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PRESS MATTER. ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS
AND REPRODUCTIONS

BY PHIL. H. BREHMER

RUTLAND, VT.

HISTORICAL RUTLAND

An Illustrated History of Rutland^
Vermont^ from the granting of the
charter in 1161 to 1911 ....

Reproductions and Original Photographs by Louis F. Brehmer
Press Matter Written and Compiled by Rev. F. E. Davison

Published by

Phil. H, Brehmer^ Rutland^ Vt.

THE TUTTLE CO., Printers

^ X ^C

^anmaxh.

O A TRAVELER entering Rutland for the first time the most conspicuous thing is
the mountain peaks, under whose shadows the city rests. The whole landscape is
dominated by the sky-piercing summits. It is much like that in writing history. When
the historian, as in this instance, sweeps the horizon of 1 50 years his eye is caught and
focussed upon the principal events that raise themselves out of the dim distance and it
may well be possible that at such long range, fog bank and cloud may be credited
with substantial reality. Out of the wealth of material put into permanent form by his predecessors, the
author of this souvenir volume has selected what he conceives to be the subjects of most vital importance to
future generations.

It has not been his province to create — only to compile, rearrange and set in order for ready reference
some of the facts concerning the past and present with which this generation may not be fully conversant.
Grateful acknowledgment is hereby made to the files of Rutland Herald, the "History and Genealogy
of the Mead Family", Graham's History of Vermont, History of Rutland County by Smith and Rann,
Hemenway's Vermont Gazetteer and Child's Gazetteer and Business Directory of Rutland County. No
work of man is perfect and the maker of this book does not flatter himself that it will stand the test of
absolute accuracy. It is sent forth with the satisfaction of knowing that it is an honest attempt to secure
the facts and to present them in a concise and readable form. As such the author craves the reader's con-
sideration.

F. E. Davison.

I|t0t0nral lutlanb.

N ORDER TO GET the proper perspective for a history of Rutland, it is necessary
to go back to the earhest records and trace events which have followed in succession
the discovery of Lake Champlain, July 4, 1 609. The discovery of that body of
water was also the disclosure of the territory now comprised in Rutland County, of
which the City of Rutland is so important a part.

Rutland County has the distinction of having been in the course of its history under the jurisdiction
of five different powers : first, the native aborigines, next, the French by right of discovery, then, the
English by conquest and colonization, after that, by the independent republic of Vermont up to the time
of the admission of the State into the Union, March 4, 1 79 1 , and finally, the government of the United
States of America up to the present time.

3Ftttf (EnunttfH fflarnpb (3ut ai (§tti

Not only so, but Rutland County has been carved out of at least five different counties since those
early days. In 1 683 Albany County embraced all the territory of the present county and much more.
In March, 1 778, Vermont was divided into two counties. Unity on the East side and Bennington on
the west side of the Green Mountains. In 1 7 70, the territory north of the present Bennington County
and west of the mountains was given the name of Washington County. February 13, I 781, Rutland
County was incorporated, embracing the territory Washington County had previously covered. So that
Rutland County at that time extended from Bennington to Canada, and from the Green Mountains on
the east to the Hudson River on the west, including within its confines Lake Champlain and Lake
George. The population of the county at that time was a little more than 4,000 and the appraisal of
property for taxation less than $100,000. The county seat was established at first at Tinmouth
where it remained until 1 784 when it was removed to Rutland. When Addison County was formed in
1 784 Rutland County was brought to its present limits, with the exception of the loss of the town of
Orwell, which was annexed to Addison County in 1847.

The territory of Rutland County during the Colonial and Indian wars was trodden by many hostile
expeditions. It was subject to the depredations of both French and English armies at a later period and
because of the dangerous conditions incident to the times, settlements were rare, and it was not until after
the complete conquest of Canada bv the English in I 760 that any considerable move was made in the
direction of populating this section of the country, a few points only having been occupied as military posts
up to that time.

3Ftrst ^fltlpjtiPitt of Qlouttlg

The principal towns in Rutland County were chartered in 1761. But the time of the first settle-
ment is a matter only of conjecture. It is certain that a brisk trade had been carried on between Canada
and Massachusetts before any white man had settled in this territory, and that business was transacted
and goods transported into Canada, and that the line of travel was directly across what is now the county
of Rutland. There is a journal still in existence of a trader who made the journey from Massachusetts
to Crown Point, N. Y., in I 730 in which he writes in glowing terms of the richness of the soil along
Otter Creek.

But when the French War terminated in the surrender of the province to the north to Great Britain,
many of the soldiers who had crossed Vermont on their warlike expeditions, decided to settle within its
limits, and Governor Wentworth, the colonial governor of New Hampshire, received numerous applica-
tions for charters, and in 1761, the principal towns now included in Rutland, Bennington and Addison
counties were chartered.

®fn Qlliartpra drantf Ji in (l^itf f rar

Ten towns in Rutland County were granted charters between the 26th of August and the 20th of
October, 1761, in which settlements were commenced at the following periods: Pawlet, 1761; Claren-
don and Rutland, 1 768; Castleton and Pittsford, I 769; Poultney and Wells, 1 771 ; and Brandon, 1 772.
By the terms of the charters an ear of Indian corn was required to be paid annually by the trustees
of each town until December, 1 772, after which one shilling proclamation money was to be paid
annually for each hundred acres.

Sutlattii'B Htnal <£i)atUvs

Rutland, the shire town of Rutland County, was granted by charter September 7, 1761, by Governor
Benning Wentworth of the province of New Hampshire to Colonel Josiah Willard of Winchester, N. H.
The first named grantee of the charter was John Munay, an influential citizen of Rutland, Massachusetts,
and without doubt he gave the name to the township, although he, nor anyone of the other grantees ever
settled within its limits. Murray sold his right in Rutland, about 350 acres, for 2 shillings, or at the
rate of ten acres for one cent.

During the same year (1761) Rutland was granted under the name of Fairfield, by Colonel John
Henry Lydius of Albany, who claimed the territory under a deed issued by a Mohawk Indian Chief of
New York. There ensued a long and bitter controversy and struggle on the part of the New Yorkers
to dispossess the settlers, and on the part of the Green Mountain boys to maintain their hold upon the
ground to which they believed they were legally entitled. The troublous times continued until the final
adjustment of the Land Title controversy determined the legality of the charters issued by New Hamp-
shire.

3Ftrat Wtjitf BtttUtB

During the year 1769, Timothy Mead, Zebulon, James (Col.), Stephen, Ezra, and one daughter,
emigrated from Nine Partners to what is now Rutland County, Vermont. Three of the sons, Zebulon, James
(Col.) and Ezra settled on Otter Creek, West Rutland, between what is now Center Rutland and Proc-
tor. These were the first white people that ever settled in Rutland.

Colonel James, on the 30tK of September, 1 769, made his first purchase of land in Rutland. There
were seventy rights in the whole town, one right containing
350 acres. He bought twenty rights for £100 and sold ten
the same day for £40, retaining 3,500 acres. The following
year, 1 770, he was forty years old, with a wife and ten
children. The first white child born in Rutland, is said
to have been William, September 12, 1770, the eleventh
child of Colonel James Mead. The twelfth and youngest
child, James, was born December 12, 1773. William, the
eleventh child, moved from Vermont to Ohio. He died at
Granville, Ohio, November 24, 1854, and on his tombstone
is the following inscription:

Capt.
WILLIAM MEAD,

DIED

Nov. 24. 1854.

Aged 84 Years.

HE WAS THE FIRST WHITE CHILD

BORN IN RUTLAND.

His family consisted of three children. Mrs. Mead
died May 11, 1823, aged ninety-two. The inscription on
her tombstone in the old cemetery at West Rutland is:

MERCY MEAD RELICT OF COL. JAMES MEAD.

This Bible was brought lo Rutland by
Col. James Mead and for a long time was
the only Bible in the settlement. It was
borrowed for various purposes social, reli-
gious and judicial. It has been handed
down from one generation lo another and is
at present the possession of Gov. J. A.
Mead. The book contains the genealogies
of the various families, and is still in a good
stale of preservation.

MAIN STREET LOOKING NORTH FROM WEST STREET.

Stephen, the fourth child of Timothy ( 1 ) , settled on Otter Creek, three miles below Sutherland
Falls in the present town of Pittsford. He had a family of thirteen children. The daughter of Timothy
married one of the Stark family.

Zebulon and Ezra, who also settled on Otter Creek, had families consisting of eleven and fourteen
children respectively.

These immigrants were three days moving from Manchester to Rutland. They came over the
mountains, stopping the first night in Dorset, the second in Danby, and thus on to Tinmouth and West
Clarendon. The third evening they camped in Clarendon, but as it was a moonlight night, they pushed
on to their destined home. Fortunately a band of Caughnawaga Indians were encamped in the vicinity,
and upon applying for shelter, the red men generously gave their hut to the weary travelers, and built
another for themselves. Here Mead and his family lived until late in the fall, during which time a
substantial log house was erected in which they wintered.

iffirat Jfour 3Famtltpa

Simeon Powers, a cooper from Springfield, and his wife Lydia, established themselves in the spring
of 1 770, west of Otter Creek, on the so-called Kelly farm. In the fall William Dwinell, with his wife,
came and resided with his relative Powers. And these four families. Mead, Powers, Dwinell and John-
son, are the only white persons positively known to have been living in Rutland in 1 770. The population
of the town in that year could not have exceeded twenty-five white persons. Of the hardships endured
by those early settlers, it is impossible to judge. It is related, for illustration, that a few days before the
birth of William Powers, his mother and others were upset in a boat on Otter Creek, a short distance
above Center Rutland falls. She floated down near the brink of the falls, where she caught hold of a
slippery log and held to it until she was rescued.

In 1 770 the best land in the settlement of Rutland sold for a few cents an acre, and there was not
a wagon bridge in town. Mead kept a boat each side of Otter Creek at Center Rutland for convenience
in crossing.

In ] 774 Rudand had a population of 35 families, a log meeting house and a Congregational Church
composed of 14 members, organized October 20, 1 773, which was the tenth church organized in Vermont,
the second west of the Green Mountains, and the first in the County of Rutland. It was located on North
Main Street opposite the old Governor Williams residence.

Among the early settlers of New England was Rev. John Graham, who came to America in 1 720.
He was a grandson to one of the Marquises of Montrose. He settled at Southbury, Connecticut, where
he remained as pastor of the church for fifty years. The only remarkable thing known of him is that he
was the father of fifty-seven children and grandchildren. His fourth son, Andrew Graham was a prom-
inent physician of Woodbury, Connecticut, dying thera in 1 785.

His son, John Andrew Graham, who was educated for the law, emigrated to Rutland shortly after his
father's death. Here he rose in his profession, till in the year 1 790, he was called to the bar of the Supreme
Court of the State. He practiced in this court until June, I 792, when at the circuit court of the United
States of America for the District of Vermont, at Bennington, he was called to the bar of that court and
admitted and sworn as attorney and councellor. In January, 1 794, Governor Chittenden appointed him
Aide-de-Camp on his staff, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel Commandant.

Durmg his residence in Rutland, Mr. Graham, wrote a series of letters, "inscribed to his Grace, the
Duke of Montrose", descriptive of the present State of Vermont, one of the United States of America.
These letters were printed in London in 1797 and form what is sometimes called 'Graham's History ot
Vermont'.

The tenth letter descriptive of Rutland County reads as follows:

Rutland is a shire town, and capital of the county of the same name ; it lies on Otter Creek, between
KiUington and Ira Mountains ; it is divided into two parishes, called East and West Rutland. On the
east side is the main street, three miles in length, the center of which, for nearly a mile lies high, straight
and level, and much resembled Hartford.

" " ■ ■ . _ - -^

MAIN STREET IN 1840.

Reed's Tavern. 2. 3.

5. Court House. 6. Franklin House. 7. Hodges & Owen. 8.

4. Chas.

Burl
9.

nd Post Office

MAIN STREET IN 1852.

1 . Slearns & Pierce. 2. Mason & Cheney. 3. Chas. Burt. 4. Court House

6. Hodges & Owen. 7. Frederick Chaffee. 8. Mason & Dorrance.

5. Franklin House.

In the center is a square, containing about five English acres, known by the name of Federal Square
(which name I had the honor to give it) ; in front of this, on the east side, stands a court house, built
of wood, by no means an ornament to the place, owing to the bad taste, and want of judgment in archi-
tecture of the committee appointed to lay out the money, which was raised by voluntary contribution, for
the purpose of erecting this building. In this are held the sessions of the General Assembly (established
here and at Windsor alternately), the District Court under the Federal government, the Supreme Court
of the State, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Court of Probate for the District of Rutland. The
Goal [Jail] stands about one hundred rods south of Federal Square, on the west side of the main street;
it is a good building and answers every purpose for which it was designed. About half a mile north of
the court house is a neat church. On each side the square and main street, are built some handsome and
elegant houses; particularly on the east side are several which draw the attention of all travelers, the
largest of which was intended for the residence of the Bishop of Vermont.

AgrtrultuiTf

The upland is filled with lime-stone, the low lands abound with clay. The intervale lands on the

Creek are of a deep rich soil and produce excessive crops of hay and Indian corn; but, unfortunately for

the husbandman, the Indian corn is often cut off by the frost. The uplands produce wheat, rye, oats,
barley, beans, peas, hemp and flax.

^tlofr Mint an Wfat S-trpft

About half a mile from the court house, in the main street, a silver mine has lately been discovered,
said to be of great value; but for the truth of this I cannot be answerable; though beyond a doubt there
is a copper mine in the vicinity ; and there are great quantities of iron ore near Rutland.

There are two great falls of water here, known by the names of Mides' and Sutherland's Falls,
on each of which are corn and saw mills. Mr. Osgood, in the year 1 794, erected on Otter Creek, the
best corn mills in the country.

MannftittnxitB

Here also is a printing office, an oil mill, a hat manufactory, a large brewery, and a manufac-
tory of nails. The water is conveyed from the mountains to the town in wooden pipes, laid about two
feet under ground. Every material for building, except glass and paint, is made here. The principal
timber is pine, maple, hemlock and birch. Pot and pearl ash are made in great abundance.

WEST STREET, CORNER MAIN, 1835.

1. Judge Pierpoint. 2. A. L. Brown's Residence. 3. James Barrett's Store. 4. American House, A. Dyer.

5. S. G, Staley's Tin Shop. 6. Residence, Hannibe! and Cyrus Porter. 7. General Store, Porter's.
8. Lester & Mann, Groceries; Myhat, Boots & Shoes; Dr. Lewis, D

WEST STREET LOOKING WEST FROM MAIN STREET.

Wilh l^aat0

The wolf and bear often descend from the ea^t mountains and do much damage, destroying the
sheep and corn.

The value of land is from twenty shillmgs to £60 an acre. The number of inhabitants is about 1 ,600,
emigrated from England, Ireland, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and the
State of New York.

ICeabtng jRpatbfnta

Doctor Williams, Mr. Mattocks, Mr. Smith, Mr. Buell, Mr. Bell, Mr. Osgood, Messrs. Chipman,
Messrs. Williams, are the leading people of the town.

(EtttzpttH ifHrrthfii

Of Samuel Williams, LL.D., member of the Meteorological Society in Germany, of the Philosophical
Society in Philadelphia, and of the Academy of Arts and Sciences in Massachusetts, it may with propriety
be said, that he is the most enlightened man in the state in every branch of philosophy and polite learning;
and it is doing him no more than justice to say there are very few in the United States possessed of
greater abilities or more extensive information; added to which, he is a most excellent orator, and always
speaks in a manner best adapted to the understanding and capacity of those whom he addresses. Iti the
year 1 794 the Doctor wrote and published the natural history of Vermont, executed much to his honor
and to the great satisfaction of all naturalists. In politeness, ease and elegance of manners, Doctoi
Williams is not inferior to the most polished European gentleman.

Mr. N. Chipman is one of the first law characters in the state. He has been district judge and chief
judge of the supreme court. Mr. Darius Chipman is a good lawyer, assiduous and persevering in his pro-
fession, a gentleman of wit and humor and a most agieeable companion.

Mr. Mattocks is treasurer of the state, which office he discharges to the universal satisfaction of the
people.

Mr. Smith was educated at the University of Connecticut, and was bred to the law ; he is a good
scholar, conversant in special pleadings, and is now a representative from the state in Congress ; his
manners are mild, modest and agreeable.

Mr. Buell is a practitioner at the bar, and much merit is due him for his ambition and perseverance
in the objects of his pursuit, the more so perhaps for his devoting himself to a laborious profession, while
nature has endowed him with great original talents for poetry, the fascinating charms of which few minds
have sufficient resolution to withstand.

Mr. Bell is high sheriff of the county, a gentleman of the strictest honor and veracity, has a tena-
cious memory, and I can with propriety deckre he is better informed in point of the local business,
and the true situation of individuals, in the different counties, than any person in the commonwealth.

Mr. Stephen Williams is one of the selectmen cf the town, and claims my particular notice and atten-
tion ; with him for nine years past I have had the honor to be on most friendly terms of intimacy. The
hospitahty of his disposition toward strangers would alone be sufficient to endear him to all who know him;
but the same generous turn of mind leads him to far nobler exertions of benevolence — to cheer the broken
heart, to wipe the tear from the pale cheek of poverty, and to bid the friendless widow and orphan look up
and smile. These are the actions that crown his days and give to his temper that sweet serenity which
only goodness can bestow. To those whose hearts resemble Mr. Williams' it would be unnecessary to

WEST SIDE OF NORTH MAIN STREET, 1865.

6. Dr. J. Porler.

2. Dr. O. Cook.
7. Gershorn Cheney. 8.

3. Episcopal Church. 4. Francis Fenn. 5. C. Burt.
Tin Shop. 9. Joel B. Harris. 10. Moses Hawkes.

say, that if in his power, he would literally fulfill that divine precept of the gospel, "Not to let his left
hand know what his right hand did," but take what care he will to conceal them, his paths are traced
for his footsteps are known (as by irresistible impulse) to be drawn towards the abode of affliction. The
sacred deeds of charity which have come within the ken of my knowledge are numberless.

Samuel Williams is one of the council of state and one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas.

Mr. Osgood is a civil magistrate, and clerk of the court of Common Pleas.

•Npgro Olongrfgattnnal iitntatfr

On the west side of the town, the farmers are better husbandmen than those on the east, and raise the
best wheat, butter and cheese; great quantities of wheat they send off to foreign markets.

In this place also is a handsome meeting house, of which the Rev. Mr. Haynes, an African (from
the state of Connecticut) is the minister. And here let me pause to pay a tribute to nature and humanity.
Violated, alas! how cruelly, how often, is that unhappy race who are of this excellent clergyman's color,
and who are supposed by some (Grant, Oh Gracious Heaven, that the number may daily decrease) scarce
to possess faculties above the "brutes that perish." But let me ask, when at the Great Day, the secrets of
all hearts shall be laid open, whether Mr. Haynes' color will be objected to by that Almighty power,
who took him from the dust of the earth and made him man? Who gave him the form, the soul, the
affections, the feelings of a man? Will his being a negro be then objected to when his life is found to
be conformable to his preaching? When he is known to have been the disinterested friend of mankind,
to have been assiduously employed like the Good Saniaritan, in pouring balm into the wounds of the
unhappy? Oh, Great God! What will then be Thy judgment day sentence? Wilt Thou regard the
shade of his complexion, (if indeed there be any difference in the shades that distinguish the human race)
or the beauty of his mind? Poor suffering sons of cne common parent, may your task-masters regard ye
as brothers ; may their kindness draw forth all yours, and may ye so live, as hereafter, in common with
the worthy pastor I have been describing, to hear those blessed sounds pronounced in your favor, "Well
done, good and faithful servant, enter ye into the joy of your Lord."

iEttttttfnt ilftt

Among the eminent men who have made Rutland their residence, the following is but a partial list.
Nathaniel Chipman, one of the ablest lawyers and statesmen of New England: his brother, Daniel, pre-
eminent for conversational powers; John A. Graham, the first lawyer located in Rutland, and author of
the first history of Vermont, a series of letters inscribed to an English Duke and published in London; Jesse
Buel, founder of the Albany Cultivator; Thomas Green Fessenden, founder of the Netv England Farmer
and the friend of Hawthorne; John Mattocks, unlearned but capable and eccentric judge; Samuel Williams,
philosopher and historian, founder of the Rutland Herald; Governor Israel Smith; James Davie Butler,
mechanic, merchant, scholar, wit ; Moses Strong, great landholder, who it is claimed, married a descendant
of Cotton Mather; Robert Pierpont, descended from a favorite officer of Wilham the Conqueror; Robert
Temple, a descendant of Governor Bradford of the Mayflower; George T. Hodges, polished and successful
merchant; William Page, attorney, safe and upright cashier; Walter Colton, popular author, announcing
the discovery of California gold; James Meacham, eloquent preacher; F. L. Ormsbee, pioneer of marble
and railroad enterprise; Solomon Foote, prosperous politician, president of conventions and senates; James
Porter, physician ; Jesse Gove, gentlemanly clerk ; Rodney Royce, popular young lawyer, and a
host of others whom we have space only to name, Gersham Cheney, John Rugbies, Edward Dyer,
Avery Billings, Samuel Griggs, Benjamin Blanchard, the Meads, Chattertons, Reynolds, Purdeys, George
A. Tuttle, who established the Rutland Daily Herald in 1861 and the Tuttle Company in 1832; Shel-
dons. Smiths, Reeds, McConnels, Barnes, Greens, Kelleys, Thralls, Wilham Fay, Charles Burt, Ben-
jamin Lord, Nichols Goddard, Nathan Osgood, Osgoods, Greenos, Parmiers, Clements, John Bissel,
Alansom Clark. The above comprises the unique description given by John A. Graham.

The first practicing attorney in Vermont, it will be seen, was John A. Graham.

Robert Pierpont was one of the most eminent of the Rutland County bar. He was born in Litch-
field in 1 791 and was admitted to the bar in 1812, the same year he removed to Rutland.

''■■■ .- 12

Israel Smith was born in Suf-
field, Connecticut, in 1 759, re-
moved to Rutland in i 79 1 , and
in the fall of that year was elect-
ed to Congress from the district
west of the mountains and re-
elected in 1 793 and 1 795. In
1 797 he was elected Chief Jus-
tice of the Supreme Court. In
1801 he was elected U. S. Sen-
ator and in 1807 he was elected
governor of the State. He died
in Rutland, December 2, 1810.
Solomon Foote, one of Rut-
land's most distinguished citizens,
was born at Cornwall, Novem-
ber 19, 1802, settled in Rut-
land in 1831, and at once entered
upon a successful career, hold-
ing various offices in the gift of
the State. He was elected to
Congress in 1843, was chosen
U. S. Senator in 1850 and
served twenty years until his
death in 1 866. He was president of the Senate during a part of the thirty-sixth and the whole of the
thirty-seventh Congress. He was among the great war senators during the rebellion. He died in Wash-
ington, March 28, 1 866, and was buried in Evergreen Cemetery with most impressive ceremonies,
addresses being delivered in the United States Court House by Senator Luke Poland, James R. Doo-
little, of Wisconsin, and a Eulogy by Rev. Dr. Norman Seaver.

In 1870 Rutland had about 2,000 families with a population of 10,000, but that included what
is now Proctor, West Rutland, Town and City of Rutland.

Space does not permit of more than a mere mention of such worthy names as Charles K. Williams,
author of an eminent judicial history of Vermont; Leonard, Charles, Chauncey and Samuel Williams;
E. L. Ormsbee, Moses Strong, A. A. Nicholson, Frederic W. Hopkins, Colonel Jesse Gove, William
Page , Darius Chipman, Ambrose L. Brown, J. T. Nichols , Rodney C. Royes, Nathan B. Graham. This
is but a brief record of some of the more conspicuous members of the county bar who attained positions
entitling them to notice and have passed away. It is enough to say that the present bar of Rutland
County includes in its membership many who are eminent in their profession and will compare favorably
with that of any other county in New England.

OLD STATE HOUSE, WEST STREET.

From 1781 to 1784 county court was held at Tinmouth after which it was removed to Rutland.
The court house for eight years was the old gambrel roofed house, still standing and occupied as a dwelling
on West Street. Externally it was then substantially as it appears now. It had only two rooms, only one
of which had a wooden floor. The west one was the court room, having a floor and seats on the north
side, a little elevated for the judges, and benches for the jurors, witnesses and spectators. The east room
had no floor, and answered all the other purposes of a court house, grand and petit jury room. Here
the first U. S. District Court ever held in Vermont had its session, the first Monday in May, 1791, with
Nathaniel Chipman as Judge and Frederick Hill as clerk.

Here too the state legislature met in October, 1 784 and 1 786. The jail was built of logs and stood
a few yards northwest of the court house.

In the year 1 792, a more commodious court hoouse was built on Main Street, just north of the old
Franklin House. It faced the west and was built of wood, framed and clapboarded, the funds for its erection

being raised by voluntary contributions. The
Legislature of 1 792 convened therein and on
October 25th of that year there was passed "an
act for the purpose of raising by lottery the sum
of £160 lavi^ful money, for the purpose of defray-
ing the expenses of building the new court house
in Rutland." In 1828 Geo. W. Daniels, a con-
tractor, bricked up the outside of the building eight
inches thick, the expense being borne by the citizens.
An extension of 20 feet was added in 1 844, and
for over 75 years justice was dispensed in this
building, until it was destroyed by fire, April 3,
1 868. The new court house was commenced in
1869 and occupied for the first time in March,
1871. It is a pressed brick structure costing orig-
inally $72,000, and is situated on the corner of
Court and Center Streets.

The whipping post was an important adjunct
of the early courts for the suppression of crime, and
one was established, in connection with the pillory,
near the present site of the fountain, corner of Main
and West Streets. Prisoners convicted of certain
crimes were punished in the regulation manner,
stripped to the waist, tied up to the ring in the
post and lashed with the cat-o'-nine tails, the num-
ber of lashes being judged in the sentences. The
last record of such punishment in Rutland is as
late as 1 808. Counterfeiting was one of the
offenses in the early years of the existence of the
community, and the records give an account of
the severe punishment inflicted upon one Canfil
Wood and a man named Carpenter in 1 785. The sentence of the former was that he "receive fifteen
stripes on the Naked Body, on the 15th day of instant (January) in Rutland." Carpenter was sentenced
to receive thirty-nine stripes. These sentences were executed, and the feelings of the community towards
that class of criminals is indicated by the sheriff's return, on which was endorsed the fact of the execution,
followed by the expressive words, "Well laid on!"

In 1808, the principal criminal of those arrested for passing counterfeit money was found guilty
and sentenced to stand one hour in the pillory, be whipped thirty-nine lashes at the public whipping post
with cat-o'-nine-tails, pay a fine of $500 and costs of prosecution ($67.20), and be confined to hard
labor in the state prison for seven years and stand committed until said sentence be complied with. The
ethers received sentences more or less similar. The expedition and certainty of execution observable in
those days is seen in the fact that the trial, sentence and execution of the same up to the time of transporta-
tion to prison, all took place in one day. Although the day was bitter cold and the snow deep, nearly
one hundred sleighs were drawn up around the park, the inhabitants having turned out in large numbers
to witness the whipping, which was lustily accomplished, at the close of which the sheriff washed the naked
backs of the culprits with rum, which he poured from a large pitcher.

Imprisonment for debt was not abolished in this state until the year 1839, previous to which the
courts were burdened with that sort of legal business.

On Woodstock Avenue is a marble post engraved "Jail Limit", beyond which prisoners could not
go when out on probation.

An interesting old volume entitled "Travels Through the Northern Parts of the United States in
the Years 1807 and 1808," published by Edward Augustus Kendall, describes a court scene in Rutland in
the early days. The writer says:

"Rutland is the county town of the most populous county in Vermont; and adjacent to the inn at
which I put up, is the court house. On my arrival, which was after sunset, I found the public curiosity

COURT HOUSE.

engaged by a sitting in the court house, on some persons apprehended on the charge of counterfeiting bank-
bills. As this was an offense of which I had heard much in all parts of Vermont, I had my curiosity, too,
and I repaired immediately to the tribunal.

"At my entrance, I saw, through the dusk, about one hundred persons, shabbily dressed, standing,
sitting and reclining on the benches and tables, and from this apparent disorder, I came to the instant con-
clusion that the court had adjourned, but after a few seconds * * * * I satisfied myself of my
error. In short, I descried, upon the bench four or live men, dressed like the rest, but differing in this that
ihey Tvere bareheaded, while all the others wore hats.

"Having now made myself acquainted with the court, I looked next for the jury and the prisoners;
but jury there was none; and as for the single prisoner that was present,' he sat, undistinguished, among
the lookers-on. By degrees, I discovered, that though there were a whole bench of judges, and six or
eight lawyers at the bar, this honorable court was engaged merely in an affair of police, the court con-
sisting only in the person of one of the magistrates, his bareheaded companions being but assistants in cour-
tesy.

"The attorney general for the county of Rutland, aided by a second lawyer, appeared for the prose-
cution, and there were also two lawyers who defended the prisoner. These gentlemen, with many others,
were seated at a table covered with a green cloth; and upon that table, sat two or three of the sovereign
people, with their backs towards the honorable court. In front of the bench, and without the bar, upon
a raised platform, was an iron stove, and upon the platform stood half a dozen of the same people. The
stove, though both the court and the bar frequently spoke of their sufferings from the cold, and occasionally
discussed the propriety of adjourning, to warm themselves in the adjoining public houses, contained neither
fire nor fuel.

The presiding judge on this occasion was Theophilus Harrington (or Herrington) , the eccentric
magistrate of that period of whom many characteristic incidents are related. He was born in Rhode
Island in 1 762, and emigrated to Clarendon in 1 786. It is related of him that on his return to Vermont
after a business trip to Rhode Island, he saw a young woman named Betsy Buck in a house which he
was passing. It was a case of love at first sight, and so strong was the impression made upon him that
he stopped, made suit to her and took her with him as his wife when he left the house shortly. They
settled in Clarendon and had a family of twelve children. Harrington represented the town seven years,
was Speaker of the House one year ; was chief judge of Rutland County Court three years, and a Judge of
the Supreme Court ten years. He died November 17, 1813, and was buried at Clarendon with Masonic
honors. Perhaps the thing which will never die concerning this remarkable man is his ruling in reference
to the return of a fugitive slave. Judge Harrington was applied to in those troublous days for a warrant
for the extradition of a negro, who was claimed as a slave. The claimant made out what he regarded as
a prima facie case, and then "rested", but the judge intimated that the title to the slave was not satisfac-
torily established. Additional evidence was put in, but the judge was still not satisfied. A third attempt
was made and proof was furnished that the negro and his ancestors before him had "time out of mind of
man" been slaves of the claimant and his ancestors. Still the judge declared that there seemed to be a
defect in the title. "Will Your Honor, then," returned the astonished claimant, "be good enough to suggest
what is lacking to make a perfect title?" "A bill o* sale, sir, from God Almighty," was the reply. This
decision, made as it was at a time when slaves were held even in the North, gave Judge Harrington a
national reputation and made him immortal.

IFort ISutlanb

About the commencement of the Revolutionary War a fort was built on North Main Street, near the
corner of Terrill at the head of West Street on what was known as the burnt district, covering about half
an acre of land. This was known in the early days as the Picket fort. It was built of palisades of maple,
sunk in the ground some five feet and about fifteen feet high; the adjoining sides were hewn and joined
together ; the outside and inside were unhewn ; at each corner was a flanker about eight feet square — in
the nature of a bastion — so that each outside of the fort could be raked with shot from two flankers. All
around the fort, five or six feet from the ground, were portholes six feet apart, only large enough at the
center to admit a musket, but radiating inside and outside so that the marksman within could sweep a wide
field in front. Within the fort was a small storehouse for provisions and ammunition. The only means
of entrance was a bullet-proof gate on the front or west side, a little south of the center. In the southwest

MONUMENT, NORTH MAIN AND WEST
STREETS.

corner was a well. The fort is said to have been
built by voluntary labor as a place of defense
from Indians, British or Tories at the beginning
of the war. As forts were soon after erected east
and west of this, it became of little use and was
gradually torn down and the pickets used for fuel.
The site is now marked by an imposing granite
block on the west face of which is this inscription:
"Memorial — 1775 — Erected on Site of
Fort Rutland by Ann Story Chapter, Daughters of
the American Revolution — June 14, 1901."

iFart ISang^r

In March, I 778, Rutland, was made the
headquarters for the State Troops. That same
year a fort was erected at Center Rutland, on the
hill east of the falls, known as Gookins falls, and
named Fort Ranger. It covered two or more
acres, was made of unhewn hemlock logs or pick-
ets, sunk in a trench five feet deep, and rising fif-
teen feet high, sharpened at the top and inclining
outward and accommodating two or three hundred
troops. In the northwest section a block house was
built, forty feet square and two stories high and
supplied on all sides with port holes. This fort
was used as headquarters, and a depot of supplies
for other forts, until 1781, when the headquarters
were removed to Castleton.

During the War of the Rebellion, the present
fair ground was used as a veteran reserve camp.

and called Camp Fairbanks, in honor of Governor Fairbanks. The first and Second Regiments, mustered
into service at Rutland, were
camped here for several weeks.

Slutlanii ^aUlB

The famous old Franklin
House was one of the leading
Rutland taverns in the early part
of the nineteenth century. It
stood on the east side of Main
Street near the spot now occupied
by the residence of P. M. Mel-
den, corner of Main Street and
Mansfield Place. It was known
as Gould's Tavern. It was kept
by Henry Gould before the war
of 1812. In 1829, Nathaniel
Gould, brother of Henry, thor-
oughly refitted the building and
changed the name to the Frank-
lin House. Again in 1833
Robert Temple remodeled the
hotel and it was finally destroyed

FRANKLIN HOUSE.

. IJ

:]g3Djg

m Jt'-.^ aJ 3 3 i 3

SJlliSilininii

by fire in 1 868. The Franklin House stood on
the site of Munn's Tavern, which was in its glory
in 1 794. Nathaniel Gould, who changed the
name of the hotel from Gould's Tavern to the
Franklin House was born in I 786 and died at
Westminster in 1853. Gershom Cheney bought
the Franklin House two years before it burned
in 1 868 and was to have given up the management
in two days, when it caught fire April 3, 1 868,
from the bursting of a lamp in the middle of the
night, starting a conflagration which destroyed the
building, the court house and other property, with
a loss of over $50,000. At the time of its
destruction the hotel could accommodate more
people than any other public house in this section.
The proprietor at one time entertained a whole
circus, horses and all, and that during court week.
He divided the dancing hall annexed to the tavern
into rooms, and had another barn for the animals.
On the third floor of the house was the hall where
the young people used to take dancing lessons.
This famous hostelery had many proprietors during its long history. Among the most prominent besides
those mentioned were George H. Beaman, who ran the hotel for nine years till about 1 843. Then
followed George R. Orcutt and after him Pratt and Ira C. Foster. Then came Putnam and Bryant and
in 1 854 John C. Parke, of Whitehall. Afterwards it was Foster and Morris, Morris withdrew and
Gershom Cheney bought of Foster about two years before the house was burned.

®Jjf Olttttral iJ^ottss

The Central House formerly occupied the site of the present Clement National Bank Block and was
kept by Major J. A. Salsbury.

ORIGINAL BATES HOUSE— 1866.

®t|p Srnrk Hfoua?

The Brock House is the oldest hotel
now standing. It was kept m early
years by Eleazer Wheelock, who was
interested in the stage lines. It was
then a two story building. Josiah Hun-
toon subsequently became the owner
and added the third story, calling it
Huntoon's Tavern. Later S. A.
Brock, the present proprietor, purchased
the property and added the piazzas.

©Iff ®atP0 l^omi

The Bates House which is located
on the spot where the Mead Block
now stands, had a reputation for many
years equal to any modern first-class
hotel. It was built by A. C. Bates
and opened by Daniel Kellog, Jr., in
the year 1 866. It contained one hun-
dred and fifty light, well ventilated

BATES HOUSE.
Rebuilt by A. C. Bales in 1876.

CENTER STREET FROM WALES STREET, 1911.

rooms, several parlors and a spacious dining hall. The furniture was of black walnut of an elegant design.
Every room was steam heated, the floors covered with body Brussels carpets and the whole structure was
furnished with every convenience for the comfort of its guests. The hotel was burned in 1876 but rebuilt
in 1877, A. C. Bates & Son managing it for four years. It finally passed into the hands of J. M. Haven
and Dr., now Governor John A. Mead, and was managed by W. H. Valiquette until October, 1885,
when Morse and Quinn became the landlords. Albert H. Tuttle followed them, until it ceased business
as a hotel.

olljf iBpriutrk ■^atxei

The Berwick House was built in 1868 by C. F. Richardson and called the "Stevens House,"
and was managed by Mr. Stevens for Mr. Richardson until 1 885 when his son, F. H. Richardson, and
D. N. Haynes assumed the management. It is a large, finely appointed and convenient house, at present
conducted by W. H. Valiquette.

The Bardwell House was built by Otis Bardwell and E. Foster Cook and opened in 1852. John
W. Cramton purchased it in 1864. For sixty years this hotel has been famous. Jay Gould made his
home here when he obtained his first railroad holdings, and it was at this hotel he made the acquaintance
of Jim Fish, with whom he was afterward to clinch in those struggles that made history. It is now con-
ducted by Lalor Bros.

Besides these hostelries Rutland possesses several smaller but well managed and homelike hotels,
among which are the St. James and the Elmore Houses on West Street.

fBaBSEEa;V!5=»V"-

' ■ m

— — - -

" r: Til

TTi T^ irer

ni m m

iii li 1

111

nr nr iir
III

STEVENS, HOUSE.

Built in 1868, by C. F. Richardson. Now the Berwick

Of these old-time taverns it
has been said: "The first and
chief aim and purpose of the
keepers of these houses was that
they should be kept for the ac-
commodation of the travehng
pubHc, and that their main sup-
port should be derived from this
source." No allurements were
held out by them to entice the
idle or the vicious of the neigh-
borhood or the surrounding coun-
try; cards and the dice were al-
most universally tabooed ; a billi-
ard table would have been deem-
ed a disreputable acquisition and
a bowling alley as an adjunct to
a reputable old-time tavern was
very rarely or never thought of.
Singularly enough, however, all
these taverns had each its ball
room, while the occasion of a
rare as the visitation of Encke's comet." * * *

ball or dance m one of them was an occurrence about as
At the times referred to the use of spirituous liquors was, as may be said, universal, that while the innkeeper
dispensed it from his bar, the merchant passed it over his counter, that it was always to be found on the
side board, and in the cupboard of the rich and poor alike, and that it was not deemed immoral or
derogatory to the character even of the parish clergyman to be seen, on occasions, sitting on the tavern
porch or the store platform (perhaps watching a game of quoits or an interesting ball play) while sipping his
glass of wine, or, perchance, a more potent beverage. In this state of society it is highly creditable to
the keepers of the respectable public houses of the time that it can be said in truth that they gave no
encouragement to excess in that direction."

The village of Rutland down to about the year 1846 was built almost entirely on Main and West
Streets. With the exception of Green Street (now Killington Avenue) and Woodstock Avenue all the
present streets have been opened since the year mentioned. Previous to that time there were only four
houses — three Ruggles houses and Chipman Thrall's — from the summit of the hill on West Street to
East Creek. The business of the place was all on Main Street. There were several brick buildings there,
among which were James Porter's store, Robert Temple's house, Orel Cook's house, D. Butler's house,
William Butman's house. J. C. Burdick's house, -^

and the Eleazer Wheelock Hotel (now the Brock
House) . There were three other hotels, the Grove
House, which stood next north of Knowlton &
Carver's store, the latter adjoining the old court
house, the Franklin Hotel and the Reed Hotel;
another public house kept by Abel Page was lo-
cated on West Street.

In 1 850, Melzar Edson and Marcus P. Norton
purchased of William Hall the "lot adjoining the
depot grounds on the east and fronting on the main
road leading to the village from the west", on
which it was intended to lay out streets. They did
this "in view of the prospective increase of business
in our village consequent upon the completion of the
Rutland and Burlington railroad", and the phe-
nomenal development of the village between 1850

BARDWELL HOUSE, 1864.

MERCHANTS ROW FROM CENTER STREET 1911.

and the end of the war of the Rebelhon abundantly justified their foresight. Real estate business
enjoyed a boom. Lands were purchased on the neglected flats, in spite of the dire forebodings of the
faithless, by far sighted men who readily saw that the influence of a railroad is invariably to draw
business around their depots, and to make streets and commercial establishments necessary.

In 1 85 I , the farm of one hundred and fifty acres, embracing a large portion of the flat included in
the local designation "Nebraska", originally owned by Moses Strong, was sold to a syndicate of six men,
called the "Rutland Land Company", who cut it up and sold it in lots to purchasers. To get a view

, of the remarkable extension of the village in the ten

: years between 1850 and 1860, it is only necessary

j' . to note the dates of street openings. These were

: ■■ ■ I as follows: Grove Street, laid out 1848; Cottags

Street, opened in 1852 and extended in 1858;
Madison Street, Pleasant Street and Prospect
Street, opened in 1 852 ; Evelyn Street, opened in
1853 and extended in 1866; Forest Street, opened
in 1853; Wales Street, opened in 1853 and ex-
tended in 1 862 ; Spring Street, opened in 1 853 and
extended in 1868; Meadow, River, Franklin, Me-
chanic, South and School Streets, opened in 1854;
Court and Center Streets, opened in 1856, and
j Nickwackett in 1 860. Some opposition arose
against the rapid progress of the village down the
hillside and out upon the flats, particularly when

rJi^AiuiZ^

FIRE RUINS, MERCHANTS ROW, 16

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH FROM CORNER
OF EDSON AND WILLOW STREETS, 1868.

the post office was removed to the building on
Center and Court Streets in the year 1854, but
time and the logic of events have proven that the
movement was inevitable.

Additional streets were opened after 1 860
as follows: Strongs Avenue in 1861 ; South Street
extension, Maple, Summer and Church Streets, in
1 864 ; Merchants Row extension, in 1 866 ; Lin-
coln Avenue in 1867; East Street, Pearl, Baxter,
Garden and North Streets in 1 869 ; Temple
Street in 1870 and Washington Street extended
the same year. State Street was opened in 1879.

Satlroaba

The era of the railroads, which may be said
to date from 1850, it will be seen was a time of
phenomenal development. The lot, part of which
is now occupied by the Congregational Church,
West and Court Streets, was sold as late as 1835
by Robert Pierpont for $550. The ground now
occupied by the railroad buildings, formerly a
portion of the John Ruggles farm, was a cow pas-
ture. A tract of land lying between Center Street and the railroad and east of a portion of Merchants
Row, bounded north by West Street, and south by the Bardwell House, was offered to Mr. Pierpont
about 1848 for $1,000. He was not able to induce others to join him in the purchase; but one of the
men whom he ought to influence in real estate afterwards paid $3,000 for a small lot, facing Merchants
Row. An Albany newspaper of the year 1852 states that "land in Rutland that was in the market six
years ago at $60 an acre is now held at $2,500 and $3,000. Eight years ago Rutland was without a
railroad; now Rutland is a cen-
tral railroad point. No less than
six lines enter Rutland ; over
which run forty-five trains a day."
The railroad between Rutland
and Bennington was built under
an act of the Legislature, Novem-
ber 5, 1845, incorporating the
Western Vermont Railroad Com-
pany. The road was put in
operation in 1 852.

The Rutland and Washington
Railroad Company was organ-
ized under an act approved by
the Legislature November 1 3,
1847. The road was opened
through to Salem, N. Y., form-
ing a continuous line from Rut-
land to Troy. Horace Clark, a
leading spirit in the movement,
superintendent and treasurer, died
on the 25th of February, 1852,
the day appointed for celebrat-
ing the opening of the road being
observed for his funeral. The

-lirrrrELEIM

"^ r ri^ F l«s i PI

■■?■

From left to

Millinery ;

fire

right: Verder's Bakery; Landon & Bates, Hardware; M. Balch,
Billiards & Oaks, Dry Goods. Buill in 1864. Destroyed by
1867. Merchants Row. Located on the present site of
Wilson Clothing Co. and Hulett Block.

This building was built by B. M. Bailey in 1853, and
occupied by him as a jewelry store. Destroyed by fire in
January, 1868. It stood on the present location of Tyrrell's
jewelry store on Merchants Row.

ilnrnrpnration of IStUagf

It was about this time that the village was
incorporated, under an act of the General Assem-
bly passed November 15, 1847. The village was
divided into seven wards in 1856.

The first section of the act of mcorporation
reads as follows :

"That part of the town of Rutland embraced
within the following boundaries to wit: Beginning
at the east side of the high way at the northern
corner of land owned by Charles K. Williams ;
thence east on the north line of the said land, and
in that direction 1 00 rods ; thence due south to the
south bank of Moon's brook ; thence west along
said bank until it strikes Truman Moulthrop's land ;
thence in a stranght Ime to the southeast corner of
Jonathan C. Thrall's land; thence north on the
east line of said land to the northeast corner of the
same; thence due north to the north line of land
set off to Lydia Fay, as dower in her husband's

cost of the road was about one million dollars.
Jay Gould became superintendent of the road, Jan-
uary 1 , 1 864, and for two years resided in Rut-
land, with headquarters at the Bardwell. In July,
1 876, the road was sold to the Delaware & Hud-
son R. R. Company.

The Champlain and Connecticut River R. R-
was incorporated November 1 , 1 843. The first
meeting of stockholders was held in Rutland, May
6, 1845, and subscriptions for stock were opened
June 1 0th of that year. In two days more than
2,000 shares had been subscribed. The first
blow in its construction was dealt in the town of
Rockingham, near Bellows Falls, in the month of
February, 1847. In two years and nine months
the road was completed and opened through,
December 1 9, 1 849. The name of the road was
changed to the Rutland and Burlington R. R. by
act of the Legislature, November 6, 1847. It
was subsequently changed to the Rutland R. R.
Company. January 1, 1871, it was leased for a
period of twenty years to the Vermont Central R.
R. Company. The road is now (191 1 ) the
Rutland Railroad and is a part of the New York
Central Lines. An extension has been built from
its Burlmgton terminus through Grand Isle County
to connect with the western branches of the New
York Central Lines.

MERCHANTS ROW LOOKING SOUTH
FROM WEST STREET, 1866.

OLD DEPOT, ROUND HOUSE AND
MACHINE SHOPS.

estate; thence east on the north line of said land
and in that direction to the east side of the highway
first mentioned; thence to the first mentioned
bounds, shall hereafter be known by the name of
the village of Rutland, and the inhabitants of said
village are hereby constituted a body politic and
corporate with the usual powers incident to public
corporations, to be known by the name of the
village of Rutland."

These boundaries were afterwards somewhat
changed but as given sufficiently locate the boun-
daries of the village as at first incorporated.

The precursor of the sewer system is found
among the instructions to the trustees at the July
m.eeting of 1850, in which they were directed to
"clear out and cover up such ditches as they shall
think proper." They were also instructed to "ex-
tend the plank walks and construct them through
the Main street north and south from Mrs.
Temple's to Mr. Perkins's on both sides ; also, on
the street from Mr. Perkins's east on the north side
as far as they think proper." One of the regula-
tions adopted the following year ( 1 85 I ) was as
follows: "No person shall drive on or ride any
horse or other beast upon the plank sidewalks, except to cross the same; penalty fifty cents."

The march of progress is further noted in the record of a meeting called in June, 1858, to see if the
people would aid in putting up gas works, and in the same year $500 was appropriated to erect fences
around the parks on Main Street. In March, 1859, a proposal was advanced at a meeting, that the people
buy the land between West and Center Streets and west of Court Street, for a public square, and to see
if the corporation would purchase a vacant lot between Washington and Center Streets and east of Dr.
Page's residences and the new bank, for a public park. This proposition called out from some facetious
person, a proposal to buy three acres in "Nebras-
ka" for musters and bull fights.

Up to the year 1 863 no effort was made
towards lighting the streets, except the limited use
of lamps provided by private enterprise. In that
year a charter was obtained for the organization
of the "Rutland Gas Light Company." This
company erected gas works, laid pipes and started
manufacture, continuing until 1867, in which year
a special meeting was called to consider the pro-
ject of lighting the village with gas, and a com-
mittee was appointed to confer with the owners of
the stock of the Rutland Gas Light Company as
to the purchase of their works ; General Baxter
then holding the majority of the stock. On
March 28, a charter was obtained for the
"Peoples Gas Light Company," with an original
capital stock of $60,000. This company pur-
chased the entire plant of the original organization,
made necessary improvements and put the works
upon a thorough-going basis. This was the genesis
of the present-day system of street lighting and gen-
eral illumination. Geo. A. Tuttle was the organizer
and for a long time treasurer of the company.

WASHINGTON STREET. 1865.

. Geo. A. TuHle Printing Co. and Book Store. 2. Residence

of Geo. A. Tuttle, now residence of C. H. Murdick.

TRINITY CHURCH FROM CENTER STREET, 1866.

aittg (dljartpr

The first effort that was made towards secur-
ing a city charter for Rutland dates back to the
year I 880. On the first of October of that year,
a committee was appointed to consider and act
upon the matter. The committee, consisting of
George H. Cheney, F. A. Field, R. Barrett, M.
J. Francisco, H. C. Tuttle, W. Y. W. Ripley, J.
W. Cramton, J. M. Haven, A. F. Walker,
Charles Woodhouse, James Levins and D. C.
Pierce, met October 1 3, 1 880, at which time
Colonel Walker presented an outline of a city char-
ter and was instructed to draft a completed charter
and report at a subsequent meeting. One week
later a meeting was held, the charter presented, a
thousand copies ordered printed and distributed,
and the matter laid over for another week. After
some further revision extending over a fortnight the
charter was accepted and a committee appointed to
lay the matter before the Legislature. But the whole
project came to naught, for various reasons, and
nothing further was done for several years.

In the year I 886 residents of the western part of the town of Rutland asked the General Assembly
to set them off as a town by themselves, and a similar request was made by the citizens of the northern
part of the town. After prolonged hearings, the Legislature, November 19, 1886, set off and incorpor-
ated as the town of West Rutland, about one third of the town of Rutland on the west side, and by an
act approved November 18, 1886, set off from the north portion some six square miles which, together
with a small amount taken from the town of Pittsford, was incorporated as the town of Proctor.

The city of Rutland was incorporated November 19, 1892. It comprises the original village

of Rutland, which the city succeeds, together with , ._. ___ . _- . - - t

with about as much more territory taken from the ,1

town of Rutland outside the village limits. The city
contains about eight and one-quarter square miles.
The greatest distances are north and south three
and one tenth miles and east and west three and
one-tenth miles. The remainder of the original
town of Rutland extends all around the city vary-
ing in width from one-quarter to two and one-half
miles.

The 30,000 (approximate) acres embraced
in the original town of Rutland is now divided
about as follows; city, 5,300 acres; town, 1 1,700
acres; West Rutland, 9,200 acres; Proctor,
3,800 acres.

The seal of the city is circular in form with
a rope border, and leaving in the margin, in capi-
tal letters and figures the following inscription:
"Seal of the City of Rutland, A town Sep. 7, E^- '-- «-""
1761— A city Nov. 19 1892." Upon the disk ^*^^^
within the inscription is a scroll upon which is a feri'-*r<'
view of the Green Mountains, with the word
"Vermont" above the horizon, and a representa- „ , , , ,„ , ,,, r, , s ,,

f:^« rtf hU^ ^U,r L 11 "1 7 1 • 1 Central House (r^resent Localion Cement hiank) : Kineslev s

tion of the city hall, a railroad tram and a quarry ..qm Red Store"; J. Auld, Fish Market; Cllfforc)" Mea'

Market; Ripley Block and Opera House.

MERCHANTS ROW, 1864.

and derrick, in the foreground.
To the right of the scroll is a
representation of an inverted horn
with agricultural products issuing
therefrom, and a sheaf of wheat,
and to the left a scale, anvil,
hammer and gear wheel.

The first mayor of the city,
1893, was Dr., now Governor
John A. Mead ; President of the
Board of Aldermen, Thomas C.
Robbins; City Clerk, H. B.
Whittier; Judge of Municipal
Court, F. M. Butler. The first
aldermen were: Ward 1, John
A. Sheldon; Ward 2, Thomas
C. Robbins; Ward 3, J. R.
Hoadley; Ward 4, N. S.
Stearns; Ward 5, Edward V.
Ross ; Ward 6, Albert Brous-
seau; Ward 7, T. H. Browne;
Ward 8, John W. Brislm;
Ward 9, Leon G. Bagley; Ward 10, John McGuirk; Ward 11, Samuel T. Braley.

The city continued under this form of government until 1909 when the present commission form of
government was adopted.

A. F. DAVIS, LUMBER YARD AND MILLS, 1865.

Present location, City Hall, opposite Bardwell,

iiayora of tl|t (dttij of IRullanti

The mayors of the city of Rutland from its
incorporation to the present time are as follows:

John A. Mead 1893

Levi G. Kingsley 1 894

John A. Sheldon I 895

Died July 25, 1910

Thomas H. Browne 1 896

Percival W. Clement 1897-1898

William Y. W. Ripley 1 899

Died Dec. 1 6, 1 905

John D. Spellman 1 900

J. Burton Hollister 1901

Died Dec. 5, 1907

David W. Temple 1902-1903

Jack S. Carder 1 904

J. Forrest Manning 1 905

Charles E. Paige 1 906

Rollin L. Richmond 1 907

Henry O. Carpenter 1908-1909

P. W. Clement 1911

CORNER MERCHANTS ROW AND
CENTER STREET, 1872.

NORTH SIDE OF CENTER STREET, 1870.

Pt*p0tl»f nJ0 of ti|e Inarb of AIi»f rmf «

Thomas C. Robbins ' ° "^-^

Leon G. Bagley '894

Henry A. Sawyer 1895-1896

Died Oct. 6, 1899
Nathaniel S. Stearns '897

Died Oct. 1 6, 1 900

Albert L. Pratt 1 898

Alvah H. Pierce 1 899

Clarence H. Murdick 1900

Arthur Lyman 1901, 1903

Carl B. Hinsman 1902

Frank R. Blanchard 1 904

Charles E. Paige 1 905

Winthrop L. Davis 1 906

John J. Lalor 1907

Henry C. Brislin 1 908

George E. Lassor 1 909-

iEtiurattnttal

The first constitution of Vermont contained this section: "A school or schools shall be established
in each town by the Legislature, for the convenient instruction of youth, with such salaries to the masters,
paid by each town, making proper use of school lands in such towns, thereby to enable them to instruct
youth at low prices. One grammar school in each county, and one university in this state, ought to be
established by the General Assembly."

The first general law of Vermont on the subject of primary schools was passed by the Legislature
October 22, 1 782. This law provided for the __ _
division of towns into school districts, and other
necessary provisions for the building of school
houses and supporting schools. This was the law
under which the school system of Vermont started,
although it is probable that there were some schools
in the State prior to the passage of this law.

The old-time schools have been the object of
wit and sarcasm from all sides. It is said that the
"buildings were such as the farmer of today would
not house his cattle in." "The teacher was not
qualified for his work; he was paid seven or eight
dollars a month in winter and from fifty cents to
a dollar a week in summer and boarded around."
"The rod or the ferule was his sceptre, with this
he governed his school." "The government was
arbitrary, the method of instruction coarse, rude
and dictatorial ; it was not such as to awaken the
minds and hearts of pupils." While it is true that
the methods of those early days lacked the im-
provements of modern times, still it must be said
that the educational systems as at first inaugu-
rated produced men and women as patriotic as

WEST SIDE MERCHANTS ROW FROM
WEST STREET, 1868.

RUTLAND HIGH SCHOOL AND ASSEMBLY HALL.

ever existed and as intelligent as
the light of their times permitted.
The average school house in
Rutland County was a small
building, sixteen by twenty feet,
often built of logs. No paint
was ever put on these houses,
either inside or outside, and they
were "open to the wind and the
weather." The entrance was into
a little room five feet square, con-
taining the chimney and the girls'
wardrobe. This passageway
opened into the school room,
some fifteen feet square. Writ-
ing benches, as they were called,
ran around three sides of the
room, and in front of them were
rough benches of hard wood
slabs, with legs as rough as the
slabs. On these were seated the
larger pupils, all old enough to
write, and in the center of the

room were lower seats for the smaller students. On one side of the room was a large fireplace con-
structed of unhewn stone, the fuel being provided by the householders, a quarter or half a cord to a
scholar, as the vote of the district might be. The teacher's desk in one corner might have cost fifty cents.
On the desk lay a rule which belonged to the teacher, and over the fireplace on two nails driven in
about two feet apart and on a level, rested "a twig of the wilderness," which, with the rule, was designed
as a terror to evil-doers. In the corner near the desk stood a broom, which was used once a day during
the noon recess, by one of the older girls attending the school, each taking her turn in sweeping the room.
With the exception of a few private schools, the district schools constituted the only means of instruc-
tion in Rutland until 1852. In
that year an academy was open-
ed in a new building on Main
Street. That building now con-
stitutes a part of the present high
school building. Extensive ad-
ditions have been made from
time to time since 1879, the last
improvement being the construc-
tion of the commodious assembly
hall in 1 909. This academy
ceased to exist as an institution
with the spring term of 1 855 and
was superseded by the Union
school. On April 6, 1855, a
union district was formed in Rut-
land, and soon after a high
school was established. The
graded school district was organ-
ized April 9, 1867.

The population of the city by
the census of 1910 was given at
1 3,546, with a school census of MOUNT ST. JOSEPH ACADEMY.

OLD CITY HALL.

Destroyed by fire March 24,

190L

3,028. The total enrollment and attendance in the
public, private and parochial schools is given in the
annual report for the year ending December 3 1 ,
1910, as 2,876, divided as follows: enrolled in
public schools, 2,191 ; enrolled in parochial schools,
616; enrolled in other private schools, 75. The
regularity of attendance exceeds the general aver-
age of the state and compare favorably with that
of the best schools in New England.

The total expenditure for schools in 1910
was $52,068.29, of which amount $41,209.18
was paid for salaries, $5,270.25 for free text
books and supplies. No city in the State has made
greater improvements in recent years in school plant
and equipment than Rutland. The erection of the
Dana building materially increased resources and
the addition to the High School building, which
has now the largest and finest school assembly
hall in the State, has made the successful handling
of the increased enrollment in that school possible.
The present teaching force consists of sixty-four
teachers, of whom ten are college-bred, ten are
normal-trained, and twenty-two are graduates of
academies and high schools. The teaching force
with that in other cities in New England the size

IS strong and efficient and compares most favorably
of Rutland. The efficient superintendent is David B. Locke, formerly of Winchendon, Mass., and the
successful principal of the high school is Professor Isaac Thomas, who has a deservedly wide reputation
throughout New England as an educator of note.

CITY HALL AND FIRE STATION NO.
Built in 1901-02.

CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.

Early in 1 789 the Rev. Samuel Williams,
LL.D., came to its pulpit, a man of wide learning,
later a professor at Harvard, one of the founders
of the Rutland Herald, and the earliest historian of
Vermont.

Rev. Herman Ball (Dartmouth, 1 79] ), was
the first regularly settled minister in the East Par-
ish, the vote of settlement being Aug. 2, I 796.
Being a settled minister, he remained the pastor of
the Church until his death, December 17, 1 82 1 .
During his ministry, 1807, occurred the abolition
of the duty resting upon towns and parishes to
maintain public religious worship. In 1819 the
Congregationalists built of brick a new house of
worship, on the east side of North Main Street,
just north of the Aiken Place where the residence
of Dr. Delehanty now stands, and the old parish
meeting house, which they had occupied until that
time, was sold by the inhabitants of the parish.

In 1818, the Sunday School was established
by Deacon William Page, who remained its super-
intendent until 1834.

Qlnngrpgational QII|ui*rI|

The earliest settlers in Rutland were Con-
gregationalists. October 20th, 1 773, a Congre-
gational Church was organized. The people at
first worshipped in a log building near the Falls
on Otter Creek at Center Rutland, though a house
of worship on "Meeting House Hill" in West
Rutland, was soon erected. Organized Congre-
gational worship in what is now the city, dates
from the division of the town into two parishes, by
an act of the State Legislature, October 22, 1 787.
The East parish in Rutland was organized
May 20, 1 788. Rev. Augustme Hibbard was
employed by the parish to preach until Novem-
ber 1 , 1 788, and a Congregational Church with
thirty-seven members was gathered October 5 th.
A meeting house was built, and the "Pew ground"
was sold at "public vendue." This structure which
stood on the west side of North Main Street near
North Street was very plain, without tower or
steeple, and lireless except for foot-stoves, as was
the custom of that period.

ST. PETER'S CHURCH.

Rev. Charles Walker, D.D., was called to the pastorate in 1823, and continued the pastor for ten
years. It was during his ministry that a weekly prayer meeting was established, the first in the town.

In 1849, Rev. Silas Aiken, D.D., became pa:tor and in 1860 Dr. Aiken received Rev. Norman
Seaver as associate who continued in this relation three years. Early in Dr. Aiken's ministry a pla:n
frame of Chapel was erected on West Street. It was also while he was pastor that the present substan-
tial church on Court Street was built and dedicated in June, 1860. Dr. Seaver remained pastor from
1863 to 1868 and was followed in 1870 by Rev. James Gibson Johnson, D.D., who was pastor for
fifteen years. During his pastorate the Chapel with entrance from Center Street was built in 1874.

In 1886, Rev. George W. Phillips, D.D., was installed, coming from Plymouth Church, Worcester,
Mass. During his pastorate extensive changes and improvements were made in the interior of the church.
He was succeeded by the present pastor. Rev. W. H. Spence, who came to Rutland from Cambridge.
Mass., in the year 1907. He is a preacher of exceptional ability and has already acquired a wide
reputation throughout the State.

g't. ^ftfr'a Partatf

The history of the Catholic Church in Rutland begins with the advent of Rev. Father Daly, an Irish
priest whose field of work extended from one end of the State to the other; there was no Catholic edifice
in Rutland during Father Daly's time, and Mass was celebrated in the house of some devoted Cathohc.
In the early fifties. Father Jeremiah O'Callaghan, another Irish missionary from Cork, Ireland, carried on
the work begun by Father Daly. He died in 1861. The first Catholic Church in Rutland was built in
1856 on Meadow Street by the Rev. Father Druon, a French priest. The edifice was built of brick and
continued in use by the Catholics of Rutland until 1 869 when the Bishop thought it was time for the
French Catholics to organize their own parish. The church property in Rutland is largely the result of
the labors of the Rev. Charles Boylan, who died December, 1 886.

The beautiful St. Peter's Church, St. Joseph's Convent, a five story brick edifice occupied by the
Sisters of St. Joseph; St. Peter's Academy, a three-story brick structure on Meadow Street where the
children of the Parish are taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The Loretto Home was erected by the
Rev. Father Gaffney.

Rev. Father J. M. Brown is the present incumbant and carrying on the labors of the parish successfully.

Sfrtmty QHjurrlj

The first Church service was held in the State House on West Street in March, 1 794. During the
next thirty-eight years the parish had no legal organization and no house of worship. It existed merely
as a congregation and was ministered to by as many as eight different clergymen at different times.
Organization as a parish was effected on February 28, 1832, and on April 10th, the same year, the first
rector was elected. Rev. John A. Hicks, D.D., of Middlebury. The year after he came to Rutland a
Church building was erected on North Main Street, at a cost of $3,000. It was completed in April, 1833,
and consecrated by Bishop Hopkins May 29th during the session of the diocesan convention. In 1 848
a rectory was purchased. It stood on the southeast corner of North Main Street and Woodstock Avenue.
Bishop Hopkins accepted a call to the rectorship for two years, but served only half that time,
resigning October 1st. 1861. During his residence, $8,100 were subscribed for a new Church, but the
outbreak of the Civil War caused a postponement of the work. It was taken up and completed under his
successor, the third rector of the parish, the Rev. Roeer S. Howard, D.D., who assumed charge Decem-
ber 1, 1861. The result was the present building on West Street. It was erected in 1863 and consecrated
August 16, 1865, by Bishop Hopkins, by whom also the plans were drawn. The old building on North
Main Street was sold and demolished three years later. The old marble altar mensa, some chancel chairs
and the bell were preserved in the New Church. The cost of the present edifice was $35,000 and
nearly half of this sum was contributed by Messrs. Charles Clement and H. Henry Baxter.

The fourth rector was the Rev. J. Milton Peck, who served three years, from August 1, 1867, to
August 1, 1870. His successor was Rev. William J. Harris, D.D. During Dr. Harris' rectorship,
the stone Chapel adjoining the church was built at a cost of $2,500.

The seventh rector was the Rev. Herbert M. Denslow, whose period of service lasted fiom April,
1882, to May, 1885. During these three years a small addition was made to the Chapel, and the present
rectory was secured at a cost of $8,000. Rev. William B. Buckingham was rector from November 22,
1 885 to December 11,1 889. His death followed only a month later, after some years of ill health. In

TRINITY RECTORY, CHURCH AND PARISH HOUSE.

his rectorship the parish saw the extinction of its debt on the rectory and the introduction of its boy choir.
On February 23, 1890, the Rev. Charles Martin Niles assumed charge as rector. Shordy after (April

— 21st), plans were begun for an elaborate recon-

] struction of the Church building and within a year
I the work was completed at a cost of $22,000,
exclusive of many handsome memorial gifts from
various parishioners. The Bishop of Albany re-
opened the Church with a service of Benediction
on January 22, 1891.

The present rector. Rev. Joseph Reynolds,
_ is carrying on the work of the parish in a vigorous

:irS7' , ^ and satisfactory manner.

lapltBt OIt|urrij

August 1 7, 1 804, thirty-five of the inhabit-
ants of Rutland met at the house of Amos Weller,
organizing themselves as the First Baptist Society
of Rutland. January 1 1, 1805, a council assisted
in organizing a Baptist Church in Center Rutland,
where after ten or twelve years services were dis-
continued and never after resumed. In 1818 a
series of revival meetings at "Mill Village" was
so successful that the new interest resulted in the
organizing of the present Church, which was
recognized November 25, 1823. February 17,

Corner South
Torn down in

S"*^

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

Main and Washington Streets. Built in 1827.
1871-72. Residence J. C. Temple on same site.

■'?. ; 1 Church has the largest membership of any Baptist
'.'V Church in Vermont.

^atvth l^mtt of Ulary ^arwif

Three priests were sent here at the organi-
zation of the parish in 1869: Father L. G.
Gagnier, Rector; and Father J. A. BoissonnauU
and Father J. A. Pelletier, Assistants. They also
attended to West Rutland, Fair Haven, Orwell,
Shoreham, Proctorsville and Danby. But it was
soon found that this plan was too expensive; so
the missions were divided, and Father L. G.
Gagnier remained alone in Rutland, with West
Rutland as an out-mission. Mass was at first cele-
brated in a hall at the corner of Center Street and
Merchants Row ; but early in the fall, a lot was
secured on Lincoln Avenue and a frame building
erected. This served as a church from January,
1870, until December 24, 1893. The house and
lot near it was bought and used as a parochial
residence.

The frame building of 1 869 has been re-
placed by a magnificent marble church, the out-

BAPTIST CHURCH.

1827, the present Baptist Society came into legal
existence for the purpose of building a meeting
house and supporting a minister. Two days later
a compact was entered into by which the first
Church edifice of this society was erected on the
northeast corner of Washington and Main Streets.

Rev. Hadley Proctor was the first settled
pastor commencing his labors in 1827. He re-
mained with the church until 1834. From 1852
to 1 860 the pulpit was occupied by the Rev.
Leland Howard, a very able and lovable man.
He died here in 1870.

The corner-stone of the present meeting
house on Center Street was laid July 18, 1871,
the work being completed at a cost of $42,000.
George A. Tuttle was chairman of the building
committee. The building was dedicated September
30, 1873. In 1873, a Mission School was
established at West Rutland, the outgrowth of
which has been an organized Church and a neat
edifice. The present pastor. Rev. F. W. Irvin,
has but recently assumed the duties of his office.
He is an energetic and conscientious worker. This

SACRED HEART OF MARY CHURCH (FRENCH).

As the Chui-ch Will Appear Whrn Con- rJctcd.

HOLY INNOCENTS' CHURCH.

members with a property includ-
ing parsonage. Church on Kill-
ington Avenue and the Parochial
School, valued at $43,000.

iiftljatitat lEptaropal

In 1853 the village of Rut-
land was one of the preaching
places on the Center Rutland
Circuit of the Troy Conference.
Rev. John Parker was the pas-
tor. He lived at Center Rut-
land and held weekly services at
the railroad station during the
year. In 1854, Rev. A. Camp-
bell and Rev. J. A. CanoU were
appointed to the circuit. The
membership at Rutland was only
63, and yet a church edifice was
built during the year on the pres-
ent site. It was a plain wooden
structure seating about 300, and

side dimensions of which are 1 45 x 64 feet and
the spire 1 98 feet above the level of the street.
The pews, railings and wainscoting are finished
in hard wood, and the walls frescoed in artistic
raised designs, and a number of paintings from
the masters in the art have been copied on canvas.
The dedication of this edifice took place on July
4, I 894. Rev. Father Proulx is the present French
Catholic priest, carrying on the work successfully.

On account of the increase in the parish of
St. Peter's, rendermg it impossible to accommo-
date the Sunday congregations, it was deemed best
to divide the parish, and the division was consum-
mated January 2, 1907, with the creation of a
new Church to be called Holy Innocents. Rev.
Father W. N. Lonergan, who had been an assist-
ant to Rev. Father Gaffney in St. Peter's twenty-
five years ago, was appointed pastor and has served
to the present time. The first services in the new
church were held in Eagle Hall, January 2, 1907,
and subsequently until December, 1 909, in the
Rutland Opera House.

Land was purchased for the erection of the
church at the corner of South Main Street and
Killington Avenue and the basement was finished
so that the first service was held there December
25, 1909.

The Church at present numbers some 1 ,400

METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 1898.

UNI VERBALIST CHURCH, 1890.

Convention and did able work after Mr. Perry's
labors had impaired his health.

Easter Sunday, 1900, Lorenzo G. Wood-
house, of New York, gave $4,100 to pay the
last vestige of the church debt, as a memorial of
his father and mother, Dr. and Mrs. Charles H.
Woodhouse. Twelve exquisite stained windows
have been given as individual presents. Rev. G.
F. Fortier has only recently assumed the pastorate.

IFirat (Eljurrlj of Qlljnat ^rtPttliat

On November 26, 1901, in a hall in the
Buxton Block, the First Church of Christ, Scientist,
of Rutland, was organized with a charter member-
ship of twenty persons. July 30, 1903, removal
was made to the Dunn Block, where a suite of
rooms was occupied until July 1, 1906, when
the church took possession of its rooms in the
Gryphon Block on West Street, continuing here
until September, 1909, when it moved to the
ground floor of the Ripley House, corner of Cot-
tage and West Streets. The society is at present
building a church edifice just north of this site,

was a comfortable place for worship for many
years. In 1875, or about that date, tbe edifice
was extensively remodeled and somewhat enlarged
by the addition of a new front, including tower,
making the seating capacity about 400. This was
done under the supervision of the pastor. Rev. H.
F. Austin. In 1898, and during the pastorate of
the Rev. D. W. Gates, D.D., the present edifice
was commenced. The seating capacity of the
auditorium is 550 when reduced to its minimum
size and about 950 when expanded to its maximum
imit.

Rev. Dr. E. P. Stevens is serving this charge
to the eminent satisfaction of the parishioners.

Itttupraaltat QII|urrI)

In 1 884, Rev. J. J. Lewis, of Boston, organ-
zed a small Universalist society, which met in the
old G. A. R. Hall. Rev. G. W. Perry came as
pastor, and from a scattered few there grew a
prosperous parish, which erected a $30,000
marble Church in 1 890, on West Street. Rev.
Q. H. Shinn was sent by the Universalist General

LORETTO HOME, 1911.

ADVENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

ing the pastorate of Rev. H. W.
Hewitt. The pastor, Rev. G.
A. Osman, has been in Rutland
but a few months but is highly
spoken of by his parishioners.

§'?upntl| lay AbmnttalB

The mission work of the Sev-
enth Day Adventists in Rutland
began in 1885. May 22, 1888,
a church was organized by
Elder T. H. Purdon, eight per-
sons signing the Church Coven-
ant. For years regular weekly
meetings were sustained for
prayer and Bible study, although
without the aid of ministerial
help, except during brief and
irregular intervals and nearly all
this time in private houses, until
in 1897, a site was secured on
North Main Street and a build-

which is expected to be ready for occupancy in
September of the present year.

A^ttpnt QIIfnBttan QlJjurrlj

In 1857, Elder Miles Grant, of Boston,
began religious services in this city, delivering lec-
tures to audiences in the Town Hall and elsewhere.
These meetings resulted in an extensive revival,
from which the Advent Christian Church was or-
ganized that year. The first settled pastor was
the Rev. Matthew Batchelder. During his pas-
torate the Church erected a plain wooden Church
edifice on West Street near the old State House,
at a cost of some $2,500, and with a seating capa-
city of about four hundred persons.

In 1 884, the Church property on West
Street was sold, and a new edifice with seating
capacity of about two hundred was erected on
Williams Street, between Church and Elm Streets.

About this time conditions arose which re-
sulted eventually in the loss of the Church prop-
erty, the scattering of its membership, and the
complete cessation of all religious services. Dur-
ing the summer of 1896, the Hoosic Valley A. C.
Conference, through their Evangelist, H. W.
Hewitt, re-opened religious services in Rutland.

On March 11, 1897, an Advent Christian
Church was organized with membership of twenty-
seven persons. The society at present worships in a
substantial brick church on West Street, built dur-

SEVENTH DAY ADVENT CHURCH.

OLD LADIES' HOME.

ing erected. This was subsequently sold and the
old bank building on Center Street, opposite the
High School building, was purchased, remodeled
and dedicated for religious worship. This society
has no settled pastor.

Uutlani JHtHBionarji Aaaortatton atih

In I 862 a few women interested in the wel-
fare of the poor banded themselves together as
the Rutland Missionary Association, applied to the
Legislature, and received a Charter. The first
meeting was held July 7, 1862. The first officers
were: Mrs. A. W. Seaver, president; Mrs. J. B.
Porter, vice-president; Miss Susan Pierpoint, treas-
urer; Miss Ellen Barrett, secretary; Managers:
Mrs. Silas Hodges, Mrs. J. B. Page, Mrs. Luther
Daniels, Mrs. H. H. Baxter, Mrs. Southard, Mrs.
Hooker.

The object of this society was to carry the
gospel to the hearts of the inhabitants of this village,
by tract distribution, by bringing children into the

Sunday schools, by mission school instruction, or
by all such other means as the openings of Provi-
dence and the exercise of sound discretion may
suggest. A sewing school has been carried on,
meetings held for the benefit of the mothers whose
children were taught in the mission school, and a
city missionary employed for many years. At
present, in addition to financial aid to the poor,
this Society supports a District Nurse.

The Old Ladies' Home was opened by the
Society in 1 890, and has cared for twenty-five
inmates. Miss Emma L. Perkins is at present the
Matron of the Home.

Officers of the Rutland Missionary Associa-
tion for 1911: president, Mrs. George P.
Russell; vice-president, Mrs. A. D. Slack; secre-
tary, Mrs. J. B. Needham ; corresponding secre-
tary, Miss Rena Thomson; treasurer. Miss Louisa
M. Page; Officers of the Old Ladies' Home: Di-
rectors, Mrs. E. H. Wood, Mrs. C. O. Perkins,
Mrs. W. F. Burditt, Mrs. Egbert C. Tuttle; secre-
tary, Mrs. Louis W. Fuller; treasurer, Mrs. A.
B. Engrem; assistant treasurer, Mrs. Geo. C.
Thrall; auditor, Mr. Henry F. Field.

The first medical society ever organized in
the State held its first meeting at the Munn Hotel,
afterwards the Franklin House, in Rutland, in
August, I 795, with Dr. Ezekiel Porter as chair-

EAST SIDE MERCHANTS ROW FROM
WEST STREET, 1868.

man. Dr. John Sargent, of Pawlet, was the first president. The Rutland County Medical and Surgical
Society was organized in February, 1877, at Castleton, with Dr. J. D. Hanrahan, of Rutland as the
first president.

The first Rutland physician of whom there is authentic record was Dr. Jacob Ruback, born in
Prussia between 1 740 and 1 750. He was a surgeon in the Prussian army, came to this country before the
Revolution, for a short period was a surgeon in the British army, afterwards went to Connecticut, mar-
ried and removed to the New Hampshire Grants. He took part in the Battle of Bennington, came to Rut-
land after the defeat of Burgoyne and remained here until 1 782, living on the road leading to Clarendon.
He died at Grand Isle April, 1809.

Dr. James Porter has left an enviable record for medical practice and surgery. Left an orphan at
four years, he lived with his uncle Ezekiel in Rutland until seventeen years of age. After a sea voyage
in which he was captured by a French privateer, released by a British vessel and subsequently returned
to New York, he came back to Rutland, studied and practiced medicine with his uncle and during the
epidemic of 1812-13, stood alone against its ravages in this place. He died in Rutland at seventy-four,
after a long life of great usefulness.

Dr. Lorenzo Sheldon was born on a West Rutland farm. May 8, 1801. From 1820 to 1880, when
he died at the age of eighty years, he was a conscientious, active and skilled physician, though from the
year 1835, when he entered into partnership with William Barnes in the marble business, he sought relief
from the regular practice of his profession.

Other men who have acquired popularity and renown in the healing art. are the Porters, Ezekiel,
James B., Cyrus and Hannibal, sons of Dr. James, Jonathan Shaw, James Ross, Joel Green, Horace,
a brother, and J. Dunham, a son of Joel Green and Thomas Page. These were among the names conspic-
uous for the heahng art when the country was new and it is enough to say that the medical profession in
Rutland has always been conspicuous for ability and character.

PLEASANT STREET FROM WASHINGTON STREET.

RUTLAND CITY HOSPITAL.

One of the first suggestions for a hospital in Rutland was contained in the will of Miss Susan Pierpont,
who bequeathed a legacy from which the hospital realized the sum of $7,036.86. The will provided that
this fund, together with the income and interest thereon, should constitute "the nucleus of a fund which is
to be applied and used for the benefit of the town in establishing and maintaining a hospital for the sick
and lame."

The hospital was chartered by the legislature of Vermont, November 2 1 , I 892, and its first board
of directors was elected in March, 1893. Its original property was acquired in 1896, and was paid for
with funds raised by churches and societies and ind;vidual friends, the major part of the cost incurred
being provided for by donations received from the following persons: John W. Cramton, the estate of
Charles Clement, Marcellus E. Wheeler, Charles P. Harris, John A. Mead, Rev. Thomas J. Gaffney,
George T. Chaffee, Newman K. Chaffee, William Y. W. Ripley, J. B. Hollister, Rev. N. Proulx,
Robt. C. and Mrs. E. S. Gilmore, John N. Woodfin, Walter C. Landon, Thomas J. Lyon, Henry O.
Carpenter, George E. Royce, Edmund R. Morse, William R. Page, Burditt Brothers, Charles S. Caverly,
Charles A. Gale, Edson P. Gilson, Thomas W. Moloney, Egbert C. Tuttle, E. C. Lewis, Wayne Bai-
ley, Charles W. Strobell, James M. Hamilton, S. L. Griffith, Amelia E. Brown, Henry F. Field.

The hospital has practically no endowment for the care of patients, its dependence for support
being upon the income derived from paying patients, an annual appropriation from the city ($3,500 in
1910) conditioned upon setting aside five free beds for the use of such beneficiaries as may be designated
by a committee from the board of aldermen, and the occasional gifts of generous friends. A training
school for nurses is also maintained, with regular courses of instruction and graduation.

During the year 1909 a timely addition to the hospital was completed, comprising general and spec-
ial wards, 1 9 private rooms, solariums, diet-kitchens, elevators and medicine closets, the whole finished
and furnished m the most complete and modern manner. The new annex was formally opened Septem-

ber 23, 1909. A further addition is in process of completion at an expense of $10,000, the larger part
of which was donated by N. P. Kingsley.

A new, commodious and conveniently located isolation hospital was built in 1 9 1 on the city prop-
erty off Woodstock Avenue.

^o\XBS oi (Eorrprtton

This IS a state institution, built in pursuance of an act passed by the General Assembly in 1876.
Rutland was selected as its site, by the county's contributing $20,000 toward its erection and thereby
gaining its use as a county jail. The building, located on the bank of East Creek, was erected in 1877-
78 at a cost of about $60,000, and has had many additions from time to time.

The successful warden at present is D. L. Morgan, whose management of the institution has shown
him to be an ideal official. J. W. Cramton, Egbert C. Tuttle, J. N. Woodfin, Newman K. Chaffee
have served the State as directors of this penal institution.

The beginning of the fistory of Rutland's Fire Department was the incorporation of the "Rutland
Fire Society" by the Legislature in the year 1829. The incorporators of this company, which not only
adopted measures for fire protection but governed the village in other directions to a large extent, were
representative men, whose names stand for character and influence in that early community. The incor-
porators were James D. Butler, Robert Temple, William Fay, Moses Strong, Thomas Hooker, William
Hall, John Ruggles, William Page, James Porter and Jonathan Dyke, Jr.

The first action taken towards supplying the village with water pipes from the aqueduct controlled
by a private association was at a meeting of the inhabitants of the village, August 4, 1845. A com-

MAIN STREET LOOKING SOUTH FROM WEST STREET, 1911

/ i?: A.'^iA^

WEST STREET FROM COTTAGE STREET, 1911.

mittee was appointed at that meeting to raise "an engine company by the enhstment of not more than 50
members," and another committee to report on "cisterns or reservoirs for water." The report of the
latter directed the erection of a reservoir "back of the North church, to be connected with the aqueduct,
with logs leading from it south through the length of the street (Main Street), with a branch running
therefrom a sufficient distance down the west street, the bore of which to be three inches." Previous to
this time a few small cisterns and buckets had been used with the engine, a mere tub that could do little
more than sprinkle a section of the street. This insignificant hand engine, with a few ladders, etc., was
located in a small wooden building on what was formerly called "the Common." January 6, 1846,
the second meeting of the society was held and $100 was raised for repairs and the purchase of
new materials. At this meeting the committee on reservoirs reported that they could "obtain land two
rods square back of the meeting house for $15.00," and estimates were submitted on the cost of logs
through the streets, the house over the reservoir ($60), and brick reservoir of 30,000 gallons ($174).
But nothing came of it, and as in the following year steps were taken to incoiparate the village, in 1848
the fire society relinquished its powers and rights to the village corporation,

January 7, 1 852, at a corporation meeting, one of the subjects considered was to "see if nothing
can be done to provide water" and "to insist upon some section (m the by-laws) to provide against fire."
Again m August of that year a meeting was called to "authorize the trustees to make such contract by
laying down iron pipes, or otherwise, to carry into effect the resolution of the Aqueduct Company to sup-
ply the village with water in such manner as they shall deem best." Various efforts were made from
time to time to obtain a greater supply of water and for better fire-fighting facilities, until in 1 858,
the water supply was taken in hand by the village authorities and some five miles of pipe laid. At this
time the village owned two hand engines.

The Washington and Nickwackett Engine Co. had them in charge as volunteer fire companies.

The acqueduct and reservoir were completed at a cost of over $14,000. In 1860, the present
Nickwackett engine house was erected. In the year 1872, the town hall was finished, and one of
the new steamers and hose company were quartered there where they still remain, with a paid fire depart-
ment with several men constantly on duty.

The most destructive fire in the history of Rutland was that which broke out Sunday morning, Feb-
ruary 1 8, 1 906. This conflagration, which was discovered in a room in the Ripley block on Mer-
chants Row about 4 o'clock Sunday morning, was not subdued until after noon of that day, when it had
destroyed property to the amount of nearly $600,000, including the whole corner of Merchants Row and
Center Street, from the Ripley block on Merchants Row to and including the Tuttle block on Center
Street, rendering 20 families homeless and consuming fortunes in its sweep. The new blocks covering
the same ground are modern and superior to those destroyed.

Wtitn Movks

The first supply of water to the village was provided by Gershom Cheney, proprietor of the Franklin
house, who laid wooden pipes from a large spring in the edge of the town of Mendon to the village, and
posts were set up at the houses of residents, who paid a certain tax for the water supply. This arrangement
continued until several years after the village incorporation, under the control and ownership of the
Aqueduct Company. One of the first acts of the village authorities was the extension of the old pipes for
fire purposes. In 1857, a reservoir was erected on Woodstock Ave. on Dr. Porter's lot, from which water
was piped in 6-inch pipes to Hodge's corner on Main Street, thence in 5-inch pipes to Washington Street, and
in 2-inch pipes to other parts of the village. Bonds were issued for $16,000 to pay for the works, which
were to be the property of the corporation. The water rates were fixed at $5 a year for a family of five

COTTAGE STREET FROM WEST STREET, 1911.
41

CENTER STREET FROM MERCHANTS ROW, 1911.

persons, the Franklin house $45, stores, $5, etc. In 1868 new works were erected at a cost of about
$20,000. This supply sufficed for ten years only, and in 1878, a still more extensive system was impera-
tively needed. The East Creek was finally adopted as a source of supply and a 1 2-inch iron aqueduct was
laid frcm a point on the Creek about three miles from the reservoir, and in 1879 the system of pipes and
hydrants was extended generally through the village.

SIljp ^trfft Eatlmay OJompatttt

The street railway company was incorporated November 13, 1882, the motive power being horses.

The capital stock authorized was $25,000, and in the summer of 1885 an organization was effected,
with E. Pierpont as president, A. H. Tuttle, treasurer, and John N. Woodfin, secretary. This road is
now in successful operation by electric power having been extended to Fair Haven, and at this writing
is in process of still further extension to Poultney.

A post office department was established by the State of Vermont in 1 784, several years prior to her
admission into the Union, for the purpose, as stated, "of promulgating the laws, conveying timely notice
to the freemen of the state of all proprietary proceedings and other matters of importance to the public,
which can in no other way be effected so extensively and attended with so small expense, as by the appoint-
ment of regular posts for the conveying of the sam^ to the parts of this state."

To carry out this design, five post offices were established, of which Rutland was one. These were
placed under the same regulations as those of the general government. Post riders were allowed two penes

per mile for their labor. Anthony Haswell then of Bennington, was appointed postmaster-general. This
department existed until the admission of the state into the Union in 1 791, at which time the office in Rut-
land was in charge of Frederick Hill; it was reorganized by the United States authorities March 20.
1 793, the same postmaster continuing until 1 796, when Nathaniel Gove was appointed.

The Rutland Post Office has been located at various periods on Main Street, West Street and
Washington Street.

The last mentioned was a brick building 100 ft. long, containing three stores, the Town Hall and
Masonic Lodge Room and west of it was the George A. Tuttle & Company building where the Rutland
Weekly Herald was published. Upon the erection of the present Federal building in 1854 the post
office was removed to that location. The office became presidential in 1853, when John Cain was
appointed Postmaster, February 21, 1853. Subsequently, a sub-station was opened on Merchants Row
for the greater convenience of the public, and the office in 1911 was transferred to entirely new quarters
on West Street, only one clerk being left at the Court Street building. At this writing the question of
the erection of a new $250,000 building in the business part of the city is being agitated.

The post office in West Rutland was established March 30, 1826, and at Center Rutland May I,
1850.

The first newspaper pubhshed in Rutland was established by Anthony Haswell, June 18,1792, and
was called the Herald of Vermont or Rutland Courier. Only thirteen numbers were issued when the
office was burned and the paper discontinued.

MERCHANTS ROW, LOOKING NORTH FROM CENTER STREET, 191

MEAD BLOCK, CENTER STREET AND MERCHANTS ROW, 1911.

In 1 793, a Mr. Lyon commenced the publication of the Farmers' Library or, Vermont Political and
Historical Register which was continued for two years, when the concern was purchased by Judge Samuel
Williams and Rev. Samuel Williams, LL.D., who issued the first number of the Rutland Herald or Ver-
mont Mercury, December 8, I 794. On Monday, June 29, 1 795, the name was changed to The Rut-
land Herald, a Register of the Times. During the different changes of proprietors it has always been
known as the Herald. Those early papers were little larger than a sheet of foolscap, printed in very
large type. The Rutland Daily Herald was first published by Geo. A. Tuttle, April 29, 1861, growing
out of the exigencies of the Civil War, and has continued to the present time, one of the fixed institutions
of Rutland. Albert H. Cobb, still connected with The Tutde Co., was the foreman in the composing
room of the Daily Herald for two and a half years upon its establishment. At that time the printing
establishment was near the head of Washington Street. Merchants Row and Center Streets were then
unknown as the business streets of the town. The Herald has passed under the management of a long list
of publishers, among whom the Tuttle family for many years were represented, and it was printed then at
1 1 and 1 3 Center Street, where The Tuttle Company are now located.

Besides the daily and weekly editions of The Rutland Herald, published by the Herald and Globe
Association, in the Herald building on Merchants Row, opposite the depot, there is a daily afternoon
paper, with a weekly edition also. The Rutland Nems, the editor and proprietor of which is Charles T.
Fairfield. This paper is published in the Evening News Building, on Grove Street.

Other papers, magazmes and literary productions, have come and gone through the years, all of
them doing more or less in moulding the sentiments of the people and aiding in the growth and development
of the community.

lattktttg

The first bank in Rutland, was chartered in 1824 under the name of "The Bank of Rutland" with
a capital of $50,000, and with Robert Temple as president and William Page, cashier. It was
located opposite the U. S. Court House in what is now the residence of L. H. Mclntire. It retained
its name until 1866 when it was reorganized as a National Bank with a capital of $300,000 and occu-
pied the present Herald Building. This bank is rot now in existence.

iSutlanb ^atitngH iBank

This institution was incorporated November, 1850. Its first president and treasurer was Luther
Daniels who served in that capacity for 29 years. Its 15,000 depositors have on interest $5,852,373.

Officers: H. O. Carpenter, President; Charles A. Simpson, Treasurer; Trustees, H. O. Carpen-
ter, N. K. Chaffee, Egbert C. Tuttle, Walter R. Kinsman, Edward Dana, Fred A. Field, T. C. Rob-
bins, G. H. V. Allen, F. H. Farrington.

Its surplus and interest June 30, 191 1, was $6,294,289.97, this is the second largest savings bank
in Vermont and owns the building corner of Center Street and Merchants Row, where the bank is located.

iRutlattb Qlouttty National fSanb.

This bank started as a State Bank in 1864 with a capital of $100,000. William Y. Ripley was
the first president, James Merrill, the first cashier. William Ripley died September 27, 1875 and was

CORNER MERCHANTS ROW AND EVELYN STREET, 1911.

MAIN STREET LOOKING NORTH FROM THE RESIDENCE OF E. R. MORSE.

succeeded by his son William Y. W. Ripley. On June 10, 1867, Henry F. Field was elected cashier
to fill the vacancy made by the resignation of James Merrill.

Officers: Henry b. Field, president; E. C. Lewis, vice-president; Carl S. Cole, cashier; Directors:
Henry F. Field, E. Mclntyre, R. L. Richmond, W. F. Burditt, C. W. Ward, E. C. Lewis, Chas.
M. Smith, Fred R. Patch, E. R. Morse. E. C. Mclntyre.

laxtfr JJatinnal lank

This bank was organized in the month of August, 1870, with a capital of $300,000, H. H.
Baxter being president, J. N. Baxter, vice-president, and G. R. Bottom, cashier.

This building is a three-story structure built of pressed brick with iron trimmings and situated on
Merchants Row, opposite the depot.

Officers: John A. Mead, president; Fred C. Spencer, cashier; Directors: John A. Mead, W. R.
Kinsman, C. B. Hinsman, E. E. Keyes, Egbert C. Tuttle, W. W. Nichols. F. M. Butler. L. G. Kings-
ley. T. W. Moloney.

Qllpmpttt 53'attanal lank

This institution has a fine banking house, at the junction of Merchants Row and Evelyn Street
valued at $60,000. At the present date a magnificent vault is being installed in the building. At the close of
business June 7, 1911, this bank reported a capital of $100,000. surplus of $100,000, with deposits of
$1,11 1,507.31. This bank also has a savings deposit.

Officers: Wallace C. Clement, president; Charles H. Harrison, cashier; Directors, Wallace C.
Clement, Percival W. Clement, Henry W. Clement, Charles H. Harrison, Harry F. Kingsley.

Located in the Clement Bank Building.

Officers: P. W. Clement, president; W. C. Clement, vice-president; C. H. Harrison, treasurer;
Board of Directors same as Clement National Bank.

ilarhlf ^amnga lank

This bank is located in the Mead Building, and began business February 1, 1883. Its fifty-seventh
semi-annual statement June 30th, 1911, shows resources of $2,139,915, with nearly 6,000 depositors.

Officers: John N. Woodfin, president; Ivor S. MacFarlane, treasurer; Trustees, J. N. Woodfin, L.
G. Kingsley, H. L. Clark, Charles E. Ross, W. F. Otis, M. E. Wheeler, E. C. Lewis.

Sutlatiti ®ruBt fflompattg

Located opposite the Depot is one of the strongest institutions in the State, having a larger percentage
reserved for deposits than any Savmgs Bank or Trust Company in Vermont.
Officers: G. T. Chaffee, president; G. K. Montgomery, treasurer.

PROSPECT STREET FROM WASHINGTON STREET, 1911

RUTLAND FREE LIBRARY, 1911.

IKtUtttgtntt Nattflttal lank

This bank is located on Mer-
chants Row opposite the Depot.
Reported June 7, 1911, resources
of $500,226.60. It has a cap-
ital stock paid in of $100,000
and a surplus fund of $20,000.

Officers: E. P. Gilson, presi-
dent; Directors, E. P. Gilson,
J. N. Woodfln, George T.
Chaffee, S. M. Wilson, H. O.
Carpenter, W. H. Spaulding,
Walter A. Clark.

The banking business of this
city has risen to such proportions
that at the present time Rutland
has in the aggregate the largest
banking capital of any city of its
size. Its financiers are men of
absolute probity and nation-wide
reputation.

IGibrama

In January, 1886, the preliminary meeting looking toward the organization of a library was held.
The meeting resulted a month later in a loan exhibition of curios and historic articles in the Clement Bank
building, the amount received being over $300. With these funds the present library was started. Feb-
ruary 20, 1886, a permanent organization was formed at a meeting in Baxter hall. Seventy-two women
subscribed to the articles of incorporation, with
Mrs. Julia C. R. Dorr as president. The first
books were purchased in April, 1 886, and the
library was opened July 5, 1886, in the block at
23 Merchants Row, with 3,234 books on the
shelves. The first week the average number of
books put in circulation daily was 71. The circu-
lation the first year was 20,283. The transfer to the
lower floor of Memorial Hall was made in March, I
1 889. The library has had but three librarians i
during the twenty-five years of its existence, Miss
Humphrey, Miss Titcomb and Miss Lucy D.
Cheney. Many of the charter members are still
active workers. Mrs. Julia C. R. Dorr remains
the honorary president. The number of volumes
in the library, February 1, 191 1, was 17,946.

1^. % laxttr Upmonal Slthrary

On the southeast corner of Library Avenue
and Grove Street stands the gray marble building
erected by Mary E. Baxter and her son Hugh H.
Baxter, in memory of Gen. Horace Henry Baxter,
who was for many years a citizen of Rutland,

H. H, BAXTER MEMORIAL LIBRARY, 1911.

dying here in 1884. The structure, which is of gray marble from West Rutland, rock-faced throughout,
in the Romanesque style of architecture, was erected in 1889. It contains a large central book room,
flanked on either side by reading rooms, also a librarian's room, lavatories, etc., the whole finished in
quartered oak. Among the attractions is a magnificent fireplace of hand-carved quartered oak, blue
marble and slabs of Mexican onyx, which fills the whole end of one of the reading rooms. The building
will accommodate 20,000 volumes, and contains many rare and costly books, such as some of the earliest
versions of the English Bible and Latin classics, and several fine specimens of printing selected on account
of sumptuous and historical bindings.

The beginning of the marble industry in this town dates back as early as 1 820, when various indi-
viduals dug out marble for grave stones near the village of West Rutland and in Whipple Hollow.
Such slabs are to be seen in the cemeteries of Rutland and West Rutland, bright and sound today. One of
them bears date of 1 789. The quarries and mills in West Rutland were opened in a commercial way in
the vicinity of 1 844, the marble being hauled to Whitehall by teams. The original mill at first ran only
about nine months in the year, and during the day tim.e only. From such small beginnings the marble
business has progressed to vast proportions until Rutland has become noted the world over as the Marble
City, the development of the industry having reached unprecedented dimensions. Contracts were filled by
Sheldon & Slason of West Rutland, after the Civil War, for 245,000 lettered headstones for soldiers' graves
in national cemeteries, the contract amounting to $864,000. The famous "Gold Room" in the Treasury
building at Washington is paneled with blue marble furnished by the Sheldons. Taking Rutland for a
center, within a circumference of 25 miles there is a tract of country producmg more and better marble

NORTH MAIN STREET LOOKING NORTH FROM OLD TEMPLE HOME.
Built in 1812. Now the residence of F. S. Plall.

CENTER STREET IN 1860,

ihan any other spot on the planet, or all other marble industries combined. Within a radius of six miles of
the Marble City four thousand men are employed taking the finest quality of marble in the world out of
the everlasting mountains, and with modern appliances and skillful fingers transforming the huge blocks into
the finished material, the wonder and admiration of all men. At Proctor, formerly a part of the town of
Rutland, is located the largest marble producing plant in the world, the Vermont Marble Company.

MvmufattttueB

The manufacturing interests of Rutland have grown to their present proportions since the advent of
the railroads. It is not possible in the space allotted us to describe the variety and extent of the industries
gathered within the borders of the municipality. Chief among the enterprises of the city is the Howe Scale
Works, which has a world-wide trade. A large proportion of the weighing scales used in the world
are made in Rutland.

The old-fashioned household steelyards, by which our ancestors hung a package on one end of a tilt-
ing bar and a weight on the other, looked at the irregular notches and guessed at the weight, have been
superseded by the modern, ingenious, accurate and beautiful scale, so that today in all lands merchandise
is weighed by them.

The Howe scale was invented in 1855 by two young men, F. M. Strong and Thomas Ross, who
secured their first patent in 1856. In the fall of the same year they put up their first scale in Vernon,
N. Y. In the spring of 1857 John Howe, Jr., of Brandon, purchased the patent and began the manu-
facture at Brandon. A stock company was organized and the business continued until 1877, when the
entire plant was removed to Rutland. Eleven acres of land were purchased and during the years 1877-
78 commodious and convenient buildings were erected for the works on their present site. Governor John
A. Mead is the president of this company, which is one of the institutions of Rutland and has contributed
much to its growth and prosperity. It employs from 700 to 800 men, and has agencies in all the prin-
cipal cities of the world.

5.0

THE COUNTRY CLUB, NORTH GROVE STREET.

While the marble and scale works are the leading industries, industrial Rutland is not limited
to these enterprises. As a matter of fact, Rutland is the greatest manufacturmg center of Northern
New England, and the hum of business is heard in every direction within her borders. According to the
last census there was an increase in manufactures between 1904 and 1909 as follows: 51 per cent in the
number of salaried officials and clerks; 24 per cent, in the number of establishments; 22 per cent in the
capital invested; 8 per cent in the value added by manufacture; 6 per cent in the value of products; and 4
per cent in the cost of materials used.

There were 63 establishments in 1909, as compared with 51 in 1904; an increase of 24 per cent.

The value of products in 1909 was $2,680,000, and $2,523,000 in 1904; an increase of
$157,000, or 6 per cent. The average per establishment was approximately $43,000 in 1909, and
about $49,000 in 1904.

To give a catalogue of the various enterprises carried on is impossible. Besides marble in all its
forms and scales of almost every variety, Rutland produces stone-working machinery, machinery and iron
parts of all descriptions, car and engine supplies, stove linings, plaster, cement products, silos, creamery
and dairy goods, women's clothing, men's shirts and collars, monuments of marble and granite, carriages,
sleighs, chair stock, sand pumps, tin cans for food packing, mailing boxes, flags, decoration and avia-
tion tents, sugar makers' supplies and confectionery and book publishing and numerous other enterprises
occupy the attention of the wage earner and make the city an ideal place for the mechanic and skilled
laborer.

The average number of wage earners employed in 1 909 was about 1 700. At present the capital
invested is approximately $3,000,000 and there is paid in salaries and wages $1,500,000. On account
of its location, geographically, the city is ideal for the investor, the manufacturer, the business world in all
its ramifications. Four railroad trunk lines converge here with more than one hundred trains daily passing
through our railroad yard, and Rutland enjoys the same freight rate as New York and Boston. The city

Ubed by Permission

DORR BRIDGE.

is only 92 miles from Albany, 234 from New York and but 167 from Boston. Rapid, frequent and com-
petmg means of communication with these chief cit.es, as well as all intermediate points, render the loca-
tion of the Marble City advantageous in every way to the industrial world.

Qlpntpnntal Qlpltbratian

In the month of October, 1870, Rutland observed its centennial with appropriate ceremonies. The
celebration continued from the second to the fifth of the month, and included addresses, historical papers,
poems, toasts, an exhibition of relics, etc. The opening service took place at the Congregational Church
Sunday evening, October 2, with a sermon by Rev. Dr. John Todd, of Pittsfield, Mass, a native of Rut-
land. The pavilion in which the dinner was served, and in which the Promenade Concert was held, stood
on the lot at the foot of Washington Street, where the City Hall is now situated. It was 2 1 by 66 feet
and capable of seating 3,000 persons. The tent inside and out was radiant with flags, bunting and gas
lights.

The Opera house was beautifully decorated within and without, with flags, streamers, mottoes, flow-
ers, and other ornaments. Extending across the street from the Opera house was a line of flags, in the
center of which was a shield tablet with the inscription on one side, "Washington promulgated our prin-
ciples, Warren died in their defense — we intend to perpetuate them." On the reverse the inscription was,
"The memories of the fathers are the inspiration of the sons." The old state house was ornamented with
flags and labeled with a brief history of the building. The Herald building was decorated finely outside
with a shield bearing the inscription, "The Rutland Herald, the oldest paper in Vermont — established
December, 1 794." An arch was erected on West .Street, opposite the old state house, by the members of
the Nickwackett Engine Company, trimmed with American, Turkish, Irish and state flags, and inscribed,
"Nickwackett No. 1 in honor of the old state house." Nearly every house and business place along the
line of march of the procession showed some decoration.

hv ISfrorb

CENTER STREET LOOKING EAST FROM
MERCHANTS ROW, 1862.

1. Bank of Rutland. 2. Residence, Charles Sheldon. 3. Verder

Bakery. 4. . 5. J. Cook's Grocery Store.

6. Faulkner's Bakery. 7. Bales & Long Block.

Vermont has been called "the legitimate
child of war." From the hour when aboriginal
tribes disputed for possession of the territory,
through the colonial period when British and
French armies traversed the land, followed by the
contentions engendered by the double systems of
grants from New Hampshire and New York, suc-
ceeded by the heroism of the Green Mountain
Boys in the Revolution, continued in the conflicts
of 1812, carried on through the war with Mexico,
rising to sublime heights in resistance to treason in
the War of the Rebellion, and responding with
alacrity in the Spanish-American War, the Green
Mountain State has never been found wanting.
In the battle of Lee's Mills Rutland lost the brave
Reynolds; at the battle of Malvern Hill Col. Wm.
Y. W. Ripley effectually stayed the tide of battle;
at Baton Rouge the gallant Col. Roberts fell. In
all these great struggles Rutland has sent forth her
full quota, men who died gloriously fighting for
their country, or returned with honorable records to
spend their declining years with the consciousness
of duty done.

ISutlattii'B Qlonarnpta in 18B3

When it became necessary, during the Civil War, to add to the Union forces in the field by drafting
men, Rutland had to contribute her quota. The spirit in which the men here entered upon their enforced
service is shown by the following:

At Rutland the drafted men of the village,
with some others, met at the town hall, elected
Ben. K. Chase captain, formed into line, and,
headed by fife and drum, marched through the
principal streets, stopped at the park, where by re-
quest prayer was offered by Rev. Leland Howard,
and speeches made by the following gentlemen who
were called out by the company : D. E. Nicholson,
C. C. Dewey, Henry Clark, M. G. Everts, and
also by Rev. N. Seaver and G. R. Hitt, of the
conscripts. Cheers were given by the conscripts
for the Union, for the draft, for the conscripts
from abroad, etc., etc., after which the company
adjourned with the highest good feeling.

In Benedict's book "Vermont in the Civil
War" he says of the total population of Vermont
one in every ten were in service and of her able-
bodied men of military age every other one shoul-
dered his musket and went to fight for his
country.

CENTER STREET LOOKING -WEST, 1870.

GREEN MOUNTAIN LANCERS.

(Srpptt Hounlatn Hattrfra

On Wednesday, May 15, 1861, many of
the boys of the town of Rutland met in the barn
of S. F. Bowman, where now stands Trinity
church. West street, and formed themselves into a
military company, giving themselves the name of
The Green Mountain Lancers.' They took the
zouave dress.

The young ladies took great interest in them.
Misses Katie C. Strong and Jennie A. Hopkins,
for the ladies, gave them a fine banner June 1 of
the same year.

Exhibition drills were given in Wallingford,
Brandon, Pittsford and Burlington and were al-
ways well received.

The roll bore the following names:
Commissioned Officers — Fordyce H. Bow-
man, captain; Kingsley K. Hannum, first lieu-
tenant; Philo J. Bates, second lieutenant; George
T. Batchelder, first sergeant; Justus Southard,
second sergeant; Varnum Whitcomb, third ser-
geant; Lewis Clark, fourth sergeant; Louis Valiquette, first corporal; Fred W. Brown, second
corporal; George H. Owen, third corporal; Henry H. Pierce, fourth corporal; James McDaniels, fifth
corporal; Fred W. Littlefield, standard bearer; Henry C. Davy, George Patch, Hiram Lewin, Charles
Frost, Levi B. Southard, musicians ; Henry C. Davy, clerk.

Privates — Albert Angier, George F. Bailey, Edward B. Bailey, Harvey Boutell, Charles P. Bates,
Charles Bateman, Benson Bennett, Avery Billings, Elliot Brewer, Jewett P. Cain, John H. Chatterton,
Cornelius P. Curtis, Edward C. Channell, Earl Cutler, Edward Durfey, George Dunton, Charles
Farmer, Albert Filmore, Chester Giddings, John Grandy, Hiram Hayes, Clark Hopkins, Stephen Mead,
George Page, Warren Page, Marsh Perkins, Charles Patch, Almon Pearsons, Charles Pierpoint, Ed-
ward Prout, Horace Pratt, Frank Ross, Henry Stewart, Charles Thompson, Egbert C. Tuttle, Vine
Watkins, Albert Kelsie.

ISutlanb Higljt Qluarig

February 9, 1911, was the fiftieth anniver-
sary of the enlistment of the Rutland Light Guards
in the defense of the Union. Vermont had
but 1 7 companies of uniformed militia, few of
them numbering over 50 men in January, 1861.
One of the largest of these companies was the
Rutland Light Guards, numbering 74 men and
commanded by Gen. W. Y. W. Ripley. Gov.
Fairbanks took early action to put Vermont in
position to meet any crisis that might arise, believing
that war was inevitable, and an order through
Adjutant and Inspector General H. H. Baxter,
January 25, 1861, ordered the commanding offi-
cers of each company to ascertain how many men
would be ready to respond to the call of the Presi-
dent in a war for the Union. On February 9,
1861, 54 members of the Rutland Light Guards
held a special meeting in the first Town Hall at the

EAST SIDE MERCHANTS ROW, 1870.

MERCHANTS ROW, BLIZZARD, MARCH ]3ih, 18f

upper end of Washington Street, and of the 74
members of the company 63 responded "Yes". Of
this number 52 went to war and only six are now
known to be alive. Their names are Milo Lyman,
H. G. Sheldon, Henry W. Davis, Samuel W.
Terrill, James W. Ross and Levi G. Kingsley.
The Light Guards became Company K of the
First Vermont Regiment.

On May 9, 1911, seven members of the orig-
inal Rutland Light Guards held a reunion at the
home of Gen. L. G. Kingsley, of Pine Street.
They were Milo Lyman, Henry W. Davis, Samuel
Terrill, S. H. Kelley, Harley Sheldon, James Post
and L. G. Kingsley.

These were the first enlisted men in the War
of the Rebellion.

The Grand Army of the Republic dates back
to an early period after the close of the war.
Roberts Post No. 1 4 (named in honor of the
lamented Colonel Roberts, who fell on the battle-
field), was chartered November 1 1, 1868. The
first meeting was held in the carpet room of L. G.
Kingsley 's store, and the post occupied the hall in
the Morse (now Rutland Savings Bank) block,
in 1885. The first officers were Wm. Y. W.
Ripley, P. C, W. G. Veazey, S. V. C, John
A. Sheldon, J. V. C, C. H. Forbes, Adj., E. A.
Morse, quartermaster.

Up to the year 1 869 the town hall was used
for public gatherings in the village. In that year
the Ripley Music Hall was built by William Y.
Ripley. This building was used for public gather-
ings until it was destroyed by fire in 1875. It
was not until 1881 that the present Opera House
was erected by Gen. E. H. Ripley, on the site of
the burned structure. It was dedicated in October,
1 88 1 . The interior was designed and finished
under the architectural direction of J. J. R. Ran-
dall, of Rutland.

The first Masonic lodges were chartered in
this State early in 1 784, Center Lodge of Rutland
being among the first, organized October 15,1 794,
the same year the Grand Lodge in Vermont was
organized. Noah Smith, who resided for a time
in Rutland, was the first grand master. Rutland
has had but one grand master, Henry H. Smith,
who filled the office in 1876-77. Among the men
who were early promoters of Masonry was

MASONIC TEMPLE.

Used by Permission

WEST ROAD, BELOW CLARENDON, SHOWING OTTER CREEK.

Nathaniel Chipman, whose fame as a United States senator and jurist is excelled by few. Center Lodge
was the first lodge granted by the Grand Lodge after its organization, and it was at the house of Jesse
Gove in Rutland, October 15, 1794. The lodge was reorganized in later years, the first meeting after
the reorganization being held February 3, 1853. On June 26, 1856, a public installation was held at
the Congregational Church, with an address by Henry Smith of Claremont, N. H. The procession moved
to the Franklin House, where dinner was served.

Odd Fellowship has flourished in the county for more than half a century. The first lodge installed
in the county was Otter Creek Lodge No, 10, constituted March 9, 1847. The five original petitioners
were prominent citizens of Rutland, and the first regular meeting was held in a lodge room in an ell-part
of the old Fay printing office on Main Street, March 16, 1847. August 19th of that year the first
public address on Old Fellowship in Rutland was delivered by A. E. Hovey of New York City. This
lodge suspended operations in 1857. Killington Lodge No. 29 was organized, Sept. 1 1, 1868, with 12
members. This has been a prosperous lodge with an increasing membership. Rutland Lodge No. 61 was
instituted Feb. 22, 1899. Otter Creek Encampment was instituted Feb. 27, 1871. Canton Rutland
and Good Will Rebekah Lodges have a flourishing membership.

At the present time there are no less than 50 secret societies, social, fraternal, insurance, and labor
organizations, whose lodge rooms are the scenes of nightly gatherings, and in whose membership a large
number of citizens, both men and women, are enrolled.

QfiraniJ ani Pirturpsiiitp §»rfttfi-y

Rutland, from a scenic standpoint, stands at the head of the list in the catalogue of attractive loca-
tions in Vermont, the Switzerland of America. It is emphatically beautiful for situation. Nestling as
it does in an amphitheatre of mountains — Killington, 4241 feet high, the second loftiest summit in the Green

Mountain range, Pico and Shrewsbury on the east and north, and the Taconic range, Herrick and Birds-
eye on the western edge of the city's mountain cradle — the ever-changing hghts and shadows, the spring
and autumn fohage, the matchless sunrises and glorious sunsets, furnish a never-ending charm to the citi-
zen, the invalid, the tourist or the chance visitor.

Added to the mountain scenery are the numerous attractions of streams and lakes with which the
locality abounds. Chief among the popular resorts of the region is Lake Bomoseen, only 1 5 miles dis-
tant, reached by trolley line running through the busy streets of Center and West Rutland, the more quiet
streets of Castleton — home of a state normal school — Hydeville and Fair Haven, now building on to Poult-
ney and the picturesque Lake St. Catherine.

Lake Bomoseen is an ideal summer resort, the beautiful and romantic lake is enchantingly embowered
among the hills, its shores dotted with summer cottages, modern hotels, parks and pavilions catermg to the
amusement seeker. A commodious steamer plies upon its peaceful bosom, its waters teem with fish, and
at night electric lights gleam all along its shores, and music is wafted on every breeze, from hotel piazza
and concert hall. Through the long season this lake is the magnet that draws irresistibly, year after year,
hundreds of guests from far-away cities, and daily and nightly the trolley from all surroundmg towns
carries its load of pleasure-seekers to this ideal summer resort.

Mountain climbing is one of the attractions of this vicinity.

The ascent of Mount Killington, only 14 miles from Rutland to the top, and the second highest
peak in Vermont, has never been better described than by Mrs. Julia C. R. Dorr, of Rutland:

LAKE BOMOSEEN AND AMUSEMENT PARK.

MT. KILLINGTON FROM BILLINGS BRIDGE.

"I purposely avoided looking back or around until I had made about half the distance. Then I
dropped upon a flat stone, to take breath, and well-nigh lost it utterly, such was the sense of isolation, of
dizzy height, of infinite space that overwhelmed me. The house was directly beneath my feet, and I
perched in mid-air above it, while near and afar, even to the wide horizon, rolled billow after billow, like
the waves of the ocean. Not billows of cloud as you may suppose; but the everlasting hills themselves, all
tremulous with the purple and golden mists of sunset. On either side mountains as far as the eye could
reach. The valley of the Otter Creek seemed like a narrow ribbon, through which ran a thread of silver."
Of the sunrise on this majestic peak the writer says "The east was aflame with the glory of the dawn.
On the west the huge wedge-shaped shadows of Killington stretched on and on till it touched the far horizon.
The upper air was crystal clear, while low wreaths of vapor curled upwards from the valleys. From north
to south swept the broad Connecticut, a sheet of silver . and in the distance Lake Champlain stretched from
Whitehall 1 30 miles to the northward. Lake George lay like a mist wreath on the horizon. Lake
Bomoseen, Pine hill pond, and others of lesser note flashed and sparkled at our feet. Rutland, Castleton,
Pittsford, Woodstock, and a host of others were kindling their morning fires as we gazed. Far to the
north Blount Mansfield and Jay Peaks rose up majestically, with banner-like clouds floating from their
summits, exchanging signals with Mount Marcy and all the mighty monarchs of the Adirondacks. Near
at hand, towards the east, the rounded dome of Ascutney looked like a hillock, while Mount Kearsage
loomed dimly beyond it, and, clasping hands, as it were, to complete the glorious circle, came proud
Monadnock and old Greylock, Mount Anthony, Mount Equinox and Mount Dorset. But while we held
our breath on this Mount of Transfiguration the sun rose up, as out of the sea, lighting the whole east
with a more than earthly glory ; and lo ! a great rose-tinted pearl hung high in the shining heavens — Mount
Washington startled us like a vision from the other world!"

J^iews In and Near
Rutland, P^t.

McLaughlins falls.

Used by Permission

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Used by Permission

Cornell University Library
F 59.R97D26

Historical Rutland.an illustrated histor

3 1924 020 682 757

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Full text of "Historical Rutland. an illustrated history of Rutland, Vermont, from the granting of the charter in 1761 to 1911"

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